TP 


KV1I 


January 


Number  1 


TECHNICAL  PUBLICATION  No.  5 

OF 

THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  COLLEGE  OF  FORESTRY 

'•"^"-•7,  AT 

SYRACUSE  UNIVERSITY 

HUGH  P.  BAKER,  Dean 

The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in 
New  York 

BY 
NELSON  C.  BROWN 


Wood  Utilization  Series  No.  1 


Published  Quarterly  by  the  University 


Entered  at  the  Postofflce  at  Syracuse  as  second-class  matter 


A  gric.- Forestry.  Main  Library 


Volume  XVJI  January  1917  Number  1 

TECHNICAL  PUBLICATION  No.  5 

OF 

THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  COLLEGE  OF  FORESTRY 

AT 

SYRACUSE  UNIVERSITY 

HUGH  P.  BAKER,  Dean 

The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in 
New  York          !  ;;  ;; 

BY  ,'      '        '       '     '      ' 

NELSON  C.  BROWN        • ' '  '"*""  '"' 


Wood  Utilization  Series  No.  1 

Published  Quarterly  by  the  University 
Entered  at  the  Postoffice  at  Syracuse  as  second-class  matter 


Agric .  -  Fo: ,  . ;  am  Library 


FACULTY 

OF 

THE  NEW  YORK  STATE  COLLEGE  OF  FORESTRY 

AT 

SYRACUSE  UNIVERSITY 


JAMES  ROSCOE  DAY,  S.  T.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  LL.D., 

Chancellor  of  the  University. 

HUGH  POTTER  BAKER,  M.  F.  1904  (Yale)  ;  D.  Oec.  1910   (Munich), 
Deem  of  the  College  and  Professor  of  Silviculture. 

FRANK  F.  MOON,  B.  A.  1901  (Amherst  College;  M.  F.  1909  (Yale), 
'.  .*  •  •  •!  I    t  Professor  of  Forest  Engineering. 

MAULfeBY'WJL.LETT  BLACKMAN,  A.  B.  1901   (Kansas)  ;  Ph.  D.  1905 

•*'•'•::     !  -V.  .  .'  (Harvard), 

Professor  of  Forest  Entomology. 

EDWARD  F.  MCCARTHY,  B.  S.  1911    (Michigan), 
Professor  of  Forestry  at  State  Ranger  School. 

NELSON  COURTLANDT  BROWN,  B.  A.  1906,  M.  F.  1908   (Yale), 
Professor  of  Forest  Utilization. 

J.  FRED  BAKER,  B.  S.  1902   (Michigan  Agricultural  College)  ;  M.  F. 

1905   (Yale), 
Director  of  Forest  Investigations. 

LEIGH  H.  PENNINGTON,  A.  B.  1907,  Ph.  D.  1909   (Michigan), 
Professor  of  Forest  Pathology. 

JOHN  WALLACE  STEPHENS,  A.  B.,  M.  S.  F.   1907    (Michigan), 
Professor  of  Silviculture. 

CHARLES  CHRISTOPHER  ADAMS,  B.  S.  1896   (Illinois  Wesleyan)  ; 

M.  S.  1899    (Harvard);   Ph.  D.   1908    (Chicago), 

Professor  of  Forest  Zoology. 

HENRY  R.  FRANCIS,  B.  S.  1910  (Massachusetts  Agricultural  College), 
Professor  of  Landscape  Extension. 

SHIRLEY  W.  ALLEN,  B.  S.  A.  1909    (Iowa  State  College), 
Professor  of  Forest  Extension. 

(2) 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York       3 

SEWARD  D.  SMITH,  A.  B.  1909,  M.  S.  F.  1907  (Michigan), 
Director  of  State  Ranger  School. 

REUBEN  PARKER  PRIOHARD,  B.  S.,  1907    (Dartmouth  College)  ; 

M.  F.  1909  (Yale), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Products. 

HARRY  P.  BROWN,  B.  A.  1909,  A.  M.  1910,  Ph.  D.  1914    (Cornell), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Botany. 

LAURIE  D.  COX,  A.  B.   1903    (Acadia  College);   S.  B.   in  Landscape 

Architecture  1908   (Harvard), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Landscape  Engineering. 

RUSSELL  TAYLOR  GHEEN,  B.  S.  F.  1912    (Pennsylvania  State  Col- 
lege) ;  M.  F.  1914   (The  New  York  State  College  of  Forestry), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Extension. 

HOWARD  BLAINE  WAHA,  B.  S.  1909    (Pennsylvania  State  College), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Engineering. 

HENRY  HARRINGTON  TRYON,  A.  B.  1912,  M.  F.  1913    (Harvard), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Utilization. 

ALAN    F.    ARNOLD,    Landscape   Architecture    (Harvard    1904-1908), 
Assistant  Professor  of  Forest  Extension. 

WILLIAM  0.  ELLIS,  A.  B.  1911   (Lebanon  Valley  College)  ;  M.  S.  1913 

(Iowa  State  College), 
Instructor  in  Forest  Entomology. 

ALVIN  G.  SMITH,  B.  S.  1915    (The  New  York  State  College  of 

Forestry), 
Field  Assistant  in  Forest  Investigations. 

WALTER  W.  CHIPMAN,  B.  S.  1893  (Wabash  College), 
Cashier. 

MILDRED  E.  WOOD,  B.  L.  E.  1914  (Syracuse), 
Librarian. 

LILLIAN  M.  LANG, 
Secretary  to  the  Dean. 

WILFRED  L.  BASSETT, 
Assistant  Treasurer. 

ELIZABETH  M.  CONE, 
Recorder. 


465675 


TRUSTEES 

OF 
111E  NEW  YORK  STATE   COLLEGE   OF   FORESTRY. 


Ex  OFFICTO 

Dr.  JAMES  R.  DAY,  Chancellor Syracuse  Univ. 

Dr  JOHN  HUSTON  FINLEY,  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation         New  York  City. 

Hon.  GEORGE    D.    PRATT,    Conservation    Commis-     New  York  City. 
sioner   

Hon.  EDWARD  SCHOENECK,  Lieutenant-Governor.  .      Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

APPOINTED  BY  THE  GOVERNOR 

Hon.  CHARLES  ANDREWS Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  ALEXANDER  T.  BROWN Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  JOHN  R.   CLANCY Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  HAROLD  D.  CORNWALL Lowville,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  GEORGE  W.  DRISCOLL , Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  FRANCIS    HENDRICKS Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  HENDRICK  S.  HOLDEN. Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  Louis  MARSHALL New  York  City. 

Hon.  EDWARD  H.  O'HARA Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

President Hon.  Louis  MARSHALL. 

V 'ice-President Hon.  JOHN  R.  CLANCY. 

Treasurer Hon.  HENDRICK  S.  HOLDEN. 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 


This  shows  the  character  of  cordwood  in  50-inch  lengths  used  in  the  wood 
distillation  industry.  Practically  all  of  this  wood  is  made  up  of  mixed  beech, 
birch  and  maple.  It  must  be  seasoned  at  least  one  year  before  being  used  in 
the  distillation  process.  In  some  of  the  wood  yards  of  these  plants  several 
thousand  cords  are  seasoning.  The  wood  is  used  with  the  bark  on,  and  every- 
thing down  to  one  inch  diameter  is  frequently  taken. 

Over  192,000  cords  of  hardwood  are  annually  consumed  in  this  industry  in 
New  York  State. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  plant  of  the  Maryland  Wood  Products  Co.,  Mary- 
land, Otsego  County,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE 

In  order  to  meet  intelligently  the  demand  for  information 
about  the  distillation  of  hardwoods  in  New  York  State,  the 
New  York  State  College  of  Forestry 'decided  to  carry  on  as 
one  phase  of  its  research  work,  an  investigation  of  the  com- 
mercial methods  used  in  the  distillation  of  hardwoods  in  the 
State.  This  industry  was  started  and  largely  developed 
within  the  State.  New  York  is  still  one  of  the  leading  states 
engaged  in  the  distillation  of  hardwoods. 

In  writing  the  report,  the  purpose  throughout  has  been  to 
make  the  explanations  as  simple  and  clear  as  possible,  using 
as  few  technical  and  involved  terms  as  are  consistent  and  in 
many  instances  engaging  in  reiteration  that  may  at  times 
seem  unnecessary.  The  industry  is  closely  identified  with 
certain  aspects  of  chemistry,  but  the  author  has  purposely 
avoided  a  discussion  of  chemical  changes  that  take  place  in 
the  distillation  of  wood  since  the  intent  has  been  to  make  the 
report  valuable  to  the  wood  producer  and  user  in  New  York 
State  rather  than  to  those  engaged  directly  in  the  work  of 
wood  distillation. 

In  the  conduct  of  the  investigation  form  letters  were  sent 
to  every  wood  distillation  plant  in  the  State  to  obtain 
information  upon  woods  used,  equipment,  methods  and  costs, 
daily  and  annual  capacities  and  yields  in  charcoal,  wood 
alcohol  and  acetate  of  lime.  Personal  visits  have  also  been 
made  to  most  of  the  twenty-five  plants  in  New  York  State  as 
well  as  several  in  other  states  and  information  has  been 
checked  up  by  a  number  of  those  prominent  in  the  industry. 

The  author  wishes  to  express  cordial  appreciation  of  the 
kindly  interest  shown  him  by  those  engaged  in  the  industry. 
He  wishes  especially  to  express  his  sincere  gratitude  to  the 
following  men  who  have  shown  interest  in  the  work  and  have 

(7) 


8  College  of  Forestry 

helped  in  making  necessary  corrections  and  changes :  Mr.  F. 
A.  Mason  of  W.  A.  Case  £  Sons,  Buffalo,  ST.  Y. ;  Mr.  George 
L.  Mackay,  Warren,  Pa.,  Mr.  John  Troy  of  Olean,  N.  Y. ; 
Mr.  E.  B.  Stevens  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  Messrs.  W.  S.  Gray  & 
Son  of  New  York  City;  Mr.  S.  J.  McConnell  of  Hancock, 
N.  Y.  and  Mr.  J.  L.  Stuart  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 

NELSON  C.  BROWN. 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  November  1,  1916. 


CONTENTS. 

HISTORY.  PAGE. 

Introduction 11 

Early  practices 12 

UTILIZATION  OF  WOOD  IN  THE  INDUSTRY. 

Favorable  conditions  in  New  York 14 

Desirable  species 14 

Stumpage  values 15 

Cutting  and  delivering  to  the  factory 16 

Seasoning 16 

Opportunities  for  utilization  of  sawmill  and  woods 

waste 18 

Management  of  timberlands 19 

Statistics  of  wood  consumption  in  New  York 20 

Statistics  of  wood  consumption  in  the  United  States. .  22 

DEVELOPMENTS  IN  THE  INDUSTRY. 

PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE. 

Brick  kilns 27 

Iron  retorts 28 

Oven  retorts 29 

Distillation 32 

PLANT  EQUIPMENT. 

Storage  yards -38 

Retort  house 39 

Trackage  and  cars 39 

Retorts 40 

Ovens 42 

Cooling  ovens 43 

Still  house 45 

Drying  floor 47 

Charcoal  house 47 

Cost  of  plant  and  equipment 48 

PLANT  OPERATION. 

Fuel 49 

Labor 51 

Depreciation  charges 52 

Cost  of  operation 54 

Yields 55 

Value  of  products 56 

(9) 


10  College  of  Forestry 

UTILIZATION  OF  PRODUCTS. 

Acetate  of  lime 61 

Wood  alcohol 62 

Charcoal 63 

Wood  tar 65 

Wood  gas 66 


HISTORY 

Introduction. 

The  heating  or  carbonizing  of  wood  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  charcoal  has  been  in  practice  as  long  as 
history  is  recorded.  It  is  believed  that  it  is  as  old  as  civili- 
zation itself.  In  the  manufacture  of  charcoal  by  the  old  pro- 
cess, the  wood  is  heated  to  such  temperatures  that  it  becomes 
carbonized  while  the  gases  that  pass  off  in  the  form  of  dense, 
heavy,  black  smoke  have  given  rise  to  the  modern  processes 
of  distilling  wood. 

Altogether  two  distinct  branches  of  the  industry  have  been 
developed-  in  this  country.  The  most  important  branch  is 
devoted  to  the  utilization  of  the  denser  and  heavier  hardwoods 
and  seeks  the  recovery  of  the  following  commercial  products : 
wood  alcohol,  acetate  of  lime,  and  charcoal.  In  addition, 
the  minor  products  are  wood  tar  and  wood  gas,  both  of  which 
are  at  the  present  time  usually  utilized  as  fuel  in  the  heating 
process.  Only  those  hardwoods  that  are  comparatively  free 
from  an  excessive  content  of  gums,  tannins,  resins,  etc.,  are 
desirable.  The  so-called  northern  hardwoods,  such  as  maple, 
birch  and  beech,  are  considered  the  most  suitable.  Hickory 
and  oak  are  also  considered  of  almost  equal  value. 

The  other  branch  of  the  wood  distillation  industry  requires 
resinous  woods  and  the  objective  products  are,  on  the  other 
hand,  turpentine,  tar,  wood  oils,  and  charcoal.  The  southern 
longleaf  pine  is  the  best  wood  for  this  kind  of  distillation 
and  up  to  the  present  time  has  been  practically  the  only  one 
used  for  this  purpose.  This  bulletin  deals  only  with  the 
distillation  of  hardwoods  in  New  York  State. 

(ii) 


12  College  of  Forestry 

Early  Practices. 

The  first  record  of  the  distillation  of  wood  on  a  commercial 
scale  in  this  country  is  in  1830  when  James  Ward  began 
the  manufacture  of  pyroligneous  acid  at  North  Adams,  Mass. 
This  is  the  raw  liquor  distilled  from  the  condensed  vapors 
that  pass  off  in  heating  the  wood.  So  far  as  can  be  learned 
from  records,  it  was'  not  until  1850  that  the  distillation  of 
wood  for  the  production  of  volatile  products  and  semi-refined 
products  was  begun.  According  to  the  most  authentic  records 
the  first  successful  wood  distillation  plant  in  this  country 
was  established  in  New  York  State  in  1850,  when  John  H. 
Turnbull,  of  Turnbull  &  Co.,  Scotland,  who  had  for  some 
time  been  connected  with  the  industry,  came  to  this  country 
and  erected  at  Millburn,  Broome  Co.,  New  York  (now 
Conklin  on  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road) a  small  chemical  plant.  The  copper  and  steel  cast- 
ings were  brought  from  Scotland.  There  were  eight  cast  iron 
retorts,  42  inches  in  diameter  and  about  8  feet  long,  and  the 
necessary  copper  stills,  copper  log  condensers,  etc.  A 
number  of  men,  experienced  in  the  industry  were  brought 
over  by  Turnbull  from  Scotland  and  many  of  these  men  and 
their  sons  became  managers  of  plants  which  soon  after  sprang 
up  in  southern  and  southeastern  New  York. 

The  retorts  were  charged  each  twelve  hours  with  wood  cut 
in  eight  foot  lengths.  The  vapor  was  condensed  in  a  copper 
log  condenser  and  the  liquid  recovered  was  pumped  into  set- 
tling tanks,  from  which  it  was  drawn  to  the  copper  stills 
for  distillation.  The  settled  tar  was  drawn  off  from  these 
settling  tanks  each  day,  and  spread  with  a  ladle  over  the 
charcoal,  which  was  burned  under  the  retorts,  the  copper  and 
lime  stills,  and  the  pans  —  all  distillation  being  accomplished 
by  this  direct  method.  Little  or  no  effort  was  made  to  save 
the  wood  spirit,  the  main  object  being  to  produce  acetate  of 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     13 

lime,  for  which  a  high  price  was  obtained  both  in  the  home 
and  Scotland  markets. 

The  methods  followed  in  operating  the  plant  demanded  a 
large  amount  of  hand  labor,  and  sturdy  men  of  experience 
were  needed  to  carry  the  work  forward.  These  men  with 
their  families,  came  from  time  to  time  from  Scotland.  In 
a  short  time  Millburn  became  known  as  the  Scotch  Settle- 
ment and  it  was  famous  for  the  number  of  trained  men  who, 
after  getting  their  experience  here  were  called  upon  to  take 
charge  of  distillation  plants  not  only  in  New  York  but  in 
Pennsylvania,  Michigan,  Canada  and  other  centers  as  well. 

About  1865  (or  soon  after)  a  Mr.  Pollock,  a  chemist,  of 
Morrisania,  New  York,  began  refining  wood  spirit  in  a  small 
way.  The  market  developed  rapidly.  Shortly  the  Burcey 
Column  was  introduced  to  the  crude  plants,  thereby  adding 
to  the  power  of  the  stills  to  recover  wood  spirit  of  82  per  cent, 
test.  The  production  of  wood  spirit  being  greatly  increased, 
it  became  desirable  to  install  a  central  refining  station,  and 
the  Burcey  Chemical  Co.,  with  a  refinery  at  Binghamton, 
New  York,  resulted.  A  refinery  was  also  started  in  Brockton, 
Mass,  in  1877. 

For  a  long  time  the  sale  of  charcoal  was  limited,  the  greater 
part  being  consumed  as  fuel  in  the  plants.  Slowly  the  market 
developed,  until  to-day  practically  the  entire  output  is 
shipped,  hard  and  soft  coal  taking  its  place  under  the  boilers 
and  retorts,  and  live  steam  being  used  in  the  stills  (now  fitted 
with  coils),  and  in  the  pans,  which  have  steam  jackets  at  the 
bottom. 

At  the  present  time,  plant  operation  is  along  efficient  lines. 
Old  time  methods  have  been  d:  -continued,  and  the  manual 
labor  is  now  greatly  reduced.  In  the  woods  there  is  also  a 
noticeable  improvement.  Cord  wood  is  now  to  some  extent 
cut  from  the  limbs  and  refuse  tree  trunks,  after  the  lumber- 
man has  taken  out  all  the  best  timber  in  the  shape  of  logs. 


14  College  of  Forestry 

Thus  the  danger  of  fire  is  reduced  and  the  ground,  which 
otherwise  would  be  covered  with  scattered  brush,  is  free  for 
new  seedlings  to  take  root  without  delay,  or  the  stumps  left 
to  sprout  up  with  a  new  wood  crop. 

UTILIZATION  OF  WOOD  IN  THE  INDUSTRY 

Favorable  Conditions  in  New  York. 

New  York  State  forests  are  very  fortunately  located  for 
the  carrying  on  of  the  wood  distillation  industry.  It  has 
three  very  necessary  conditions  for  successful  operation, 
namely:  (1)  a  plentiful  and  therefore  a  relatively  cheap  wood 
supply;  (2)  comparatively  near  a  good  fuel  supply,  such  as 
natural  gas  and  coal;  (3)  reasonably  accessible  to  a  market 
for  the  products  of  the  industry.  The  only  desirable  condi- 
tion that  is  not  present  is  that  of  large  iron  furnaces  where 
the  charcoal  can  be  utilized  to  the  best  advantage. 

New  York  State  contains  an  unusually  good  supply  of 
native  woods  for  use  in  the  wood  distillation  industry.  The 
highlands  of  the  southeastern  part  of  the  State,  the  Alleghany 
plateau  of  the  southern  part  of  the  State  and  the  lower 
elevations  of  the  Adirondacks,  embracing  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  northeastern  New  York,  contain  splendid  stands  of 
beech,  birch  and  maple  and  in  the  former  two  regions  these 
iand  other  species  sprout  to  excellent  advantage.  In  fact, 
many  areas  have  been  cut  over  at  rotations  of  twenty  years 
where  the  cut  showed  an  annual  growth  of  one  cord  per  acre 
per  annum.  This  rate  of  growth  is  as  good  as  can  be  expected 
under  the  best  forest  management. 

Desirable  Species. 

Woods  that  are  hard  and  heavy  are  the  most  suitable  for 
the  wood  distillation  industry,  especially  those  that  are,  in 
addition  to  the  above  qualifications,  free  from  tarry  and 
resinous  products.  As  a  rule,  heartwood  is  considered  much 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  Neiv  York     15 

more  desirable  than  sapwood  and  there  is  an  almost  uniform 
opinion  among  manufacturers  to  the  effect  that  hard  maple 
is  considered  best  and  that  beech  and  birch  follow  in  order. 
Chestnut  contains  too  much  tannin  for  successful  production 
of  distillates.  Ash,  oak  and  hickory  are  considered  almost  as 
good  as  the  so-called  northern  hardwoods,  namely,  beech, 
birch  and  maple.  Cherry  and  elm  contain  too  much  tarry 
material  and  consequently  the  distillate  results  in  an  excessive 
amount  of  wood  tar  which  has  very  little  commercial  value 
and  in  addition  there  is  an  insufficient  yield  of  alcohol  and 
acetate  of  lime.  Basswood,  popple,  cottonwood  and  the  soft 
woods  or  conifers  are  entirely  too  soft  and  light.  The  con- 
ifers such  as  spruce,  white  pine,  balsam,  fir,  hemlock,  etc., 
are  undesirable  on  account  of  the  resinous  nature  of  their 
wood  and  their  light  weight.  Other  native  species  found  in 
New  York  do  not  grow  in  sufficient  quantities  to  make  them 
of  any  importance  for  use  in  the  industry. 

Stumpage  Values 

The  value  of  the  timber  on  the  stump  varies  considerably. 
On  large  logging  operations  where  the  tops,  limbs,  defective 
trees  and  brashy  material  are  utilized,  practically  no  stump- 
age  value  is  used,  because  the  utilization  of  this  material  is 
considered  as  salvage.  On  most  of  the  New  York  operations 
steep,  rocky  hillsides,  covered  by  the  desirable  hardwoods  are 
anywhere  from  one-half  mile  to  several  miles  from  the  plant 
or  shipping  point.  Stumpage  on  these  operations,  particu- 
larly in  Delaware  county,  which  is  the  center  of  the  industry 
in  New  York  State,  runs  about  75  cents  per  cord.  Altogether 
it  varies  between  25  cents  to  $1  per  cord.  There  is  a  gen- 
eral tendency  for  stumpage  values  to  rise.  This  has  been 
especially  true  during  the  past  decade.  Since  the  European 
War  broke  out,  the  stumpage  values  have  been  inflated  to  a 
considerable  extent. 


16  College  of  Forestry 

Cutting' and  delivering  to  the  factory. 

Cutting  is  done  by  choppers  who  in  many  sections,  par- 
ticularly in  Delaware  county,  look  upon  getting  out  the 
annual  cord  wood  supply  in  the  winter  as  a  lucrative  means 
of  winter  employment.  The  trees  are  cut  up  in  fifty  inch 
lengths  and  hauled  on  sleds  when  snow  is  on  the  ground  or 
on  wagons  directly  'to  the  acid  plant.  Hauls  up  to  eight  'to 
ten  miles  are  fairly  frequent. 

For  cutting  and  stacking,  the  usual  figure  is  about  $1.25 
to  $1.40  per  cord.  Cutting  is  usually  done  by  contract,  and 
where  the  wood  is  favorably  sized  and  located  for  chopping 
and  the  ground  fairly  level,  cutting  and  stacking  can  be  done 
as  low  as  $1  to  $1.10  per  cord  by  experienced  choppers.  The 
maximum  figure  is  about  $1.50  per  cord.  The  cost  of  hauling 
varies  with  the  distance  and  the  character  of  the  ground  and 
the  road  over  which  the  load  is  hauled.  One  and  one-half  to 
two  cords  are  usually  considered  the  maximum  load  under 
the  most  favorable  conditions.  The  total  cost  of  wood  deliv- 
ered at  the  commercial  plants  is  about  $4  per  cord.  Esti- 
mates obtained  from  all  the  New  York  plants  show  that  the 
average  value  of  cordwood  delivered  at  the  plants  is  $4.06 
per  cord.  The  maximum  cost  was  estimated  to  be  $5  per 
cord  at  one  plant.  At  another  plant,  the  cost  was  estimated 
to  be  $3.25  per  cord,  which  was  the  minimum  estimated  cost 
in  the  State. 

Seasoning. 

In  all  cases  the  wood  must  be  seasoned  for  at  least  one 
year  before  being  used  in  the  ovens  or  retorts.  If  used  green, 
the  high  moisture  content  is  excessive  and  too  much  heat  is 
required  to  derive  the  product.  At  many  of  the  plants  it  is 
estimated  that  before  seasoning,  the  average  cord  of  mixed 
beech,  birch  and  maple  weighs  in  the  neighborhood  of  6,200 
pounds.  After  seasoning  the  average  cord  weighs  about 
3,800  pounds.  The  wood  is  used  in  the  process  with  the 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

General  view  of  the  Keery  Chemical  Co.  plant  near  Cadosia,  Delaware 
County,  N.  Y.  This  view  was  taken  from  a  sprout  stand  of  timber  cut  over 
for  "  acid  wood."  This  stand  has  been  cut  over  on  three  different  rotations. 
A  growth  equivalent  to  approximately  one  cord  per  acre  per  annum  was  deter- 
mined to  be  the  average  yield.  The  timber  was  made  up  almost  entirely  of 
hard  maple,  beech,  and  birch.  This  is  a  six  oven  plant  having  a  daily  capacity 
of  60  cords.  It  is  one  of  the  few  plants  in  the  State  which  has  a  refinery  to 
turn  out  95  to  98  per  cent  wood  alcohol.  The  wood  yard  is  shown  on  the 
extreme  right.  The  cooling  ovens  are  shown  on  the  extreme  left.  The  refinery 
is  the  tall  building  in  the  center  of  the  picture. 

The  wood  in  the  foreground  is  left  to  season  for  at  least  pne  year  before 
being  used  in  the  distillation  process. 


18       •  College  of  Forestry 

bark  on.  All  forms  of  limb  and  body  wood  down  to  two 
inches  in  diameter  are  utilized.  When  over  eight  inches  in 
diameter  the  wood  is  commonly  split.  Body  wood  is  much 
preferred  to  limb  wood  because  the  latter  contains  too  much 
sapwood  and  consequently  more  moisture.  As  mentioned 
previously,  yields  from  heartwood  are  much  greater  than 
those  from  sapwood. 

Opportunities  for  utilization  of  sawmill  and  woods  waste. 

Some  of  the  most  successful  plants  in  this  country  are 
operated  where  woods  waste  consisting  of  tops,  limbs,  crooked 
trees,  defective  logs  and  broken  material  in  the  woods  can  be 
profitably  utilized.  Haul  roads,  skidways  and  railroads 
maintained  and  operated  for  the  purpose  of  getting  out  logs 
can  be  utilized  to  excellent  advantage  in  getting  out  the  other 
material  for  distillation  purposes,  and  under  these  .conditions 
the  wood  can  be  delivered  at  the  factory  at  a  very  low  com- 
parative cost.  This  is  the  method  usually  followed  in  con- 
nection with  the  large  distillation  plants  in  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin  and  is  also  followed  to  some  extent  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks  and  other  parts  of  the  State.  Where  the  larger  logs 
are  utilized  for  lumber,  the  material  that  would  otherwise 
be  wasted,  is  used  for  wood  distillation  purposes.  This 
feature  constitutes  an  important  contribution  to  the  cause  of 
forest  conservation  because  one  of  our  greatest  problems  of 
forestry  in  this  country  is  the  utilization  of  our  enormous 
waste.  At  present  we  waste  as  much  as  we  utilize,  and  any 
form  of  forest  utilization  which  contributes  to  closer  utiliza- 
tion may  be  highly  commended.  The  removal  of  all  of  this 
material  from  the  forest  also  means  that  the  fire  danger  is 
greatly  lessened. 

The  larger  refuse  from  the  manufacture  of  lumber  in  saw- 
mills is  used  to  advantage  in  the  largest  plants  in  this 
country  in  Michigan.  It  is  believed  that  this  form  of  utiliza- 
tion of  sawmill  waste  will  come  into  greater  prominence  in 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  'York     19 

New  York  State.  Only  the  larger  forms  of  sawmill  waste, 
such  as  slabs,  edgings,  trimmings,  and  similar  material  can 
be  utilized  to  commercial  advantage.  The  sawdust,  shavings 
and  similar  material  usually  cut  up  by  the  slasher  cannot  be 
utilized  profitably  except  as  fuel,  but  experiments  are  now 
being  undertaken  which  may  permit  of  the  utilization  of 
sawdust  and  shavings  for  distillation  within  a  short  time  or 
as  soon  as  some  promising  experiments  can  be  perfected  on 
a  commercial  basis. 

Management  of  timber  lands. 

iSeveral  of  the  wood  distillation  companies  in  New  York 
own  tracts  as  large  as  50,000  acres  each  or  lease  tracts  nearly 
as  large.  These  are  managed  on  a  permanent  basis  and  care- 
fully protected  from  the  annual  ravages  of  fire  during  the 
dangerous  dry  seasons.  These  companies  are  practicing  one 
of  the  best  forms  of  forestry  because  they  utilize  the  products 
of  the  forest  most  completely,  the  maximum  growth  of  the 
forest  is  stimulated,  and  forest  fires,  the  greatest  enemy  of 
the  forest,  in  so  far  as  practicable,  are  eliminated.  The 
rougher  and  more  mountainous  portions  of  Delaware  county 
are  admirably  suited  to  forest  culture  on  account  of  the  steep, 
rocky  hillsides  which  contain  many  springs  and  seepage 
flows,  thus  permitting  the  most  rapid  growth  of  timber  and 
stimulating  the  sprouting  capacity  in  all  of  the  larger  trees. 
The  cutting  is  usually  done  in  the  winter  time.  The  follow- 
ing spring  the  stumps  sprout  up  thriftily  and  vigorously  to 
a  height  of  from  five  to  ten  feet  the  first  year.  After  a 
period  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  years  the  stand  is  cut  over 
and  the  same  process  is  repeated.  In  one  section  four  differ- 
ent age  classes  of  timber  were  noted  where  average  yields  of 
one  cord  per  acre  per  year  had  been  obtained  after  the  orig- 
inal forests  were  cut  over.  These  tracts  are  in  much  better 
condition  than  they  would  be  under  ordinary  conditions  of 
lumbering  because  the  forest  is  renewed  both  from  sprout 


20  College  of  Forestry 

and  from  seed.  The  vigor  of  the  forest  is  therefore  main- 
tained, forest  fires  are  kept  out  and  all  of  the  available  wood 
product  is  utilized.  It  would  be  a  highly  desirable  situation 
if  all  forest  industries  could  be  run  on  the  same  basis. 

Statistics  of  wood  consumption  in  New  York. 

For  a  long  time  New  York  was  the  leader  in  the  consump- 
tion of  wood  in  the  hardwood  distillation  industry.  In  the 
early  nineties,  however,  the  industry  spread  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  greatest  consumption:  at  present  is  found  in 
Michigan  where,  although  there  are  comparatively  few  plants, 
the  total  consumption  of  wood  exceeds  that  .of  any  other 
State.  From  an  investigation  carried  on  in  the  spring  of 
1916,  the  State  College  of  Forestry  has  determined  that  the 
annual  consumption  of  hardwood  ,for  the  industry  in  New 
York  at  that  time  was  192,330  cords.  The  daily  capacity  as 
reported  by  these  plants  was  643%  cords.  These  figures  have 
been  compiled  as  a  result  of  both  the  daily  and  annual  capac- 
.ities  of  the  twenty-five  plants  in  the  State,  as  estimated  by 
the  plants  themselves.  The  latest  available  statistics  as  com- 
piled by  the  Bureau  of  Census  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  the 
consumption  of  hardwoods  in  New  York  State  in  this  in- 
dustry was  for  1911,  for  which  year  it  was  announced  that 
132,400  cords  were  consumed. 

The  largest  plant  in  the  State  in  the  spring  of  1916  con- 
sumed 80  cords  per  day.  This  was  an  8-oven  plant  located  in 
Delaware  county.  The  smallest  plant  in  the  State  was  one 
consuming  only  12  cords  per  day  in  Sullivan  county.  This 
was  an  old  cylinder  retort  plant  containing  8  pairs  of  retorts. 
The  average  daily  capacity  of  the  individual  New  York  plant 
is  25.74  cords  and  the  average  annual  capacity  is  7,691  cords. 

As  a  rule  the  oven  retort  plants  are  much  larger  in  daily 
capacity  than  the  round  retort  plants.  The  smallest  oven 
retort  plant  is  a  2-oven  affair  consuming  16  cords  per  day 
with  an  80  cord  plant  per  day  the  largest.  The  smallest 


Photograph  by  INelson  C.  Brown. 

One  of  the  largest  wood  distillation  plants  in  the  country  located  at  Cadillac, 
Mich.  In  the  background  are  shown  the  oven  houses  with  a  smoke  stack  for 
each  of  the  six  52  foot  ovens.  In  front  are  shown  the  first  set  of  cooling  ovens, 
then  the  second  set  of  cooling  ovens,  and  finally  the  trucks  containing  charcoal 
cooling  in  the  open  in  the  foreground.  This  plant  has  a  daily  capacity  of  96 
cords,  and  uses  chiefly  mill  waste  from  one  of  the  large  saw  mills  at  Cadillac. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  plant  of  the  Cadillac  Chemical  Co. 


22  College  of  Forestry 

round  retort  plant  also  consumes  12  cords  per  day 'with  the 
largest  one  consuming  30  cords  per  day. 

Statistics  of  wood  consumption  in  the  United  States. 

The  latest  available  statistics  of  wood  consumption  in  the 
hardwood  distillation  industry  in  the  United  States  were  for 
1911,  when  it  was  reported  that  1,058,955  cords  were  con- 
sumed. Of  this  amount  Michigan  with  13  plants  led  with 
396,916  cords;  Pennsylvania  was  second  with  50  plants  con- 
suming 364,539  cords,  and  New  York  third  with  25  plants 
consuming  132,400  cords.  Seventeen  other  plants  scattered 
in  11  different  states,  chiefly  in  the  east,  reported  a  con- 
sumption of  165,100  cords. 

It  is  very  likely  that  with  the  stimulation  of  high  prices 
for  products1  of  the  wood  distillation  industry,  due  to  the 
great  European  War,  the  total  consumption  in  the  whole 
country  in  hardwood  distillation  amounts  to  about  1% 
million  cords,  although  this  is  a  very  rough  estimate.  The 
following  table  shows  the  statistics  of  wood  consumption  for 
the  United  States  as  compiled  by  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Census 'from  the  years  1907  to  1911,  inclusive: 

Number  of        Number  of  cords  of 
Year  Establishments     hardwood  consumed 

1907 100  1,219,771 

1908 101  878,632 

1909 116  1,149,847 

1910 117  1,257,917 

1911 105  1,058,955 

This  table  shows  how  the  consumption  of  the  wood  in  the 
industry  dropped  off  after  the  enactment  of  the  Federal  law 
in  1907  which  resulted  in  the  serious  drop  of  prices  obtained 
for  the  crude  wood  alcohol. 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Wood  cars  loaded  and  ready  to  be  sent  into  the  ovens.  Each  52  foot  oven 
contains  four  of  these  trucks.  Each  truck  contains  between  2  and  2^  cords 
of  50  inch  wood.  In  the  process  of  distillation  this  wood  is  reduced  about 
one-half  in  quantity  to  its  final  form  as  charcoal. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  Maryland  Wood  Products  Co.  plant  at  Maryland. 
Otsego  county,  N.  Y. 


24:  College  of  Forestry 

DEVELOPMENTS  IN  THE  INDUSTRY. 

Up  to  nearly  1860  practically  all  of  the  acetate  of  lime 
used  in  the  dye  business  in  this  country  had 'been  imported 
from  Europe.  Acetate  of  lime  was  the  principal  product 
sought  after  in  wood  distillation  in  the  early  developments 
of  the  industry.  The  distillate  was  not  utilized  for  wood 
alcohol  or  for  any  other  purpose  than  for  lime  acetate,  and  the 
charcoal  was  used,  when  convenient,  for  fuel  for  manufactur- 
ing pig  iron  and  for  other  purposes.  <  Acetate  of  lime  was 
commonly  used  even  in  the  wet  condition  before  it  had  been 
thoroughly  dried  out.  In  the  early  days  of  the  industry  it 
brought  as  high  as  18  cents  a  pound  even  in  the  wet  con- 
dition. At  the  present  time  (October,  1916),  dry  gray 
acetate  of  lime  is  bringing  $1/2  cents  a  pound,  whereas  in  the 
fall  of  1914  it  was  only  bringing  1%  cents  a  pound.  In  the 
spring  of  1916  it  brought  7  cents  per  pound. 

'Mr.  Patterson  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  establish  a 
plant  in  New  York,  located  at  Kirkwood,  near  Binghamton. 
Mr.  Thomas  Keery  entered  the  business  with  him  at  Keery- 
ville,  between  Cadosia  and  Apex,  in  Delaware  county,  and 
this  firm  has  been  in  the  business  ever  since.  At  that  time 
the  brown  acetate  of  lime  was  full  of  tar  and  not  nearly  equal 
to  the  present  refined  product.  The  charcoal  and  alcohol 
were  usually  allowed  to  go  practically  to  waste.  Enormous 
prices  were  obtained  for  acetate  of  lime  so  that  interest  was 
greatly  stimulated  in  the  industry. 

About  1885  the  raw  form  of  wood  alcohol  was  developed 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  sell  it  at  the  hat  manufacturing 
industries  at  Danbury,  Conn.  This  was  one  of  the  very  first 
large  fields  for  the  use  of  wood  alcohol,  and  it  brought  high 
prices.  Formerly  grain  alcohol  had  been  used  to  stiffen  hats 
and  the  use  of  wood  alcohol  rapidly  came  into  common  prac- 
tice. At  first  as  high  as  70  cents  a  gallon  was  paid  for  this 
wood  alcohol. 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Oven  house  in  the  background,  the  first  cooling  oven  in  the  center,  and  portion 
of  the  second  cooling  oven  on  the  left.  After  being  heated  to  a  high  tem- 
perature for  24  hours,  the  cars  of  hot  charcoal  are  moved  from  the  oven  house 
to  the  first  cooling  oven.  After  remaining  in  this  cooling  oven  for  24  hours, 
they  are  moved  into  the  second  cooling  oven  where  they  remain  for  another 
day. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  Beerston  Acetate  Co.  plant,  Beerston,  N.  Y. 


26  College  of  Forestry 

Charcoal  developed  as  the  price  of  acetate  went  down. 
Acetate  of  lime  was  used  to  fix  the  color  in  dyes,  particularly 
in  Fall  River,  Mass.  Gradually  a  big  influx  of  wood  distilla- 
tion plants  came  in  and  the  prices  gradually  dropped. 
Around  1885  to  1900  there  were  a  great  many  small  capacity 
plants  and  most  of  them,  followed  very  rough  and  crude 
methods.  All  of  them  used  the  cylinder  retort  process.  These 
plants,  however,  were  gradually  replaced  by  the  larger 
modern  plants  using  the  long  oven  instead  of  the  old  retort. 
There  is  now  a  much  smaller  number  of  plants  than  formerly, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  much  greater  annual  con- 
sumption of  wood  in  the  industry,  due  to  the  economy  in 
plant  operation  with  the  advent  of  the  oven  in  the  early 
nineties. 

Up  to  1900  the  industry  was  almost  wholly  centralized  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  At  that  time  a  few  plants  were 
started  in  Pennsylvania  just  over  the  border  from  the  south- 
ern tier  of  counties  in  New  York.  About  1902  to  1906  the 
industry  was  further  developed  in  Michigan,  where  the 
largest  wood  distillation  plants,  some  of  them  utilizing  as 
much  as  110  to  200  cords  of  wood  per  day,  are  now  located. 
Ideal  conditions  are  present  for  the  successful  manufacture 
of  wood  distillation  products  in  Michigan  because  of  the 
availability  of  the  raw  material  in  connection  with  hard- 
wood, saw  and  planing  mills,  together  with  the  fact  that  iron 
furnaces  are  maintained  in  connection  with  them  where  the 
charcoal  can  be  used  to  the  best  economical  advantage.  In 
addition  the  raw  material  is  secured  from  the  waste  of  saw- 
mills and  logging  operations  and  one  of  the  principal  products 
can  be  utilized  on  the  ground  without  excessive  shipping 
rates. 

Before  1907,  wood  alcohol  had  been  bringing  from  38  to 
40  cents  per  gallon  wholesale  for  the  crude  product,  that  is. 
the  82  per  cent  crude  alcohol.  When  the  Federal  Internal 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     27 

Revenue  Department  removed  the  tariff  on  grain  alcohol, 
which  took  effect  September  1,  1907,  the  price  of  crude  wood 
alcohol  dropped  to  about  16  cents  per  gallon,  and  gradually 
came  back  to  26  cents.  The  approximate  present  price  is  45 
cents  per  gallon,  a  price  stimulated  largely  by  the  European 
War  conditions.  Before  the  war  the  price  was  about  28  cents 
per  gallon  of  crude  82  per  cent  alcohol. 

PROCESSES  OF  MANUFACTURE. 

Within  the)  past  fifty  years  the  developments  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture  followed  in  hardwood  distillation  have 
been  remarkable.  The  history  of  the  industry  represents  an 
evolution  from  the  old  wasteful  charcoal  pits.  To  recover 
the  condensible  gases  lost  in  making  charcoal  by  the  old  pit 
process,  brick  kilns  were  used.  This  was  a  very  crude 
process,  but  represented  a  great  step  in  advance.  Next  came 
the  round  iron  retorts  placed  in  "  batteries  "  of  two  each  in 
long  bricked-up  rows,  and  within  comparatively  recent  years 
the  steel  oven,  which  is  a  great  labor  and  time  saving  device. 
The  following  are  brief  descriptions  of  these  three  processes 
which  followed  each  other  in  rapid  chronological  order. 

Brick  Kilns. 

The  brick  kilns  supplanted  the  old  charcoal  pit  as  a  means 
of  manufacturing  charcoal  when  the  iron  industry  in  this 
country  assumed  large  proportions.  Brick  was  substituted 
for  the  open  air  sod  or  clay  covered  pit  because  manufacture 
was  simplified,  the  loss  of  carbonization  was  minimized,  and 
burning,  therefore,  could  be  carried  on  with  greater  safety. 
However,  a  good  portion  of  the  vapors  are  lost  with  the  brick 
kilns  as  they  are  with  the  old  open  air  pit  since  the  yield  is 
only  about  40  per  cent  to  50  per  cent  of  the  yield  from  the 
oven  process.  These  brick  kilns  are  made  with  a  circular 
base,  with  holes  in  the  base  for  drafts  of  air  regulated  by 


28  College  of  Forestry 

special  doors  and  the  vapors  are  drawn  off  by  exhausters 
through  wooden  ducts.  This  practice  was  followed  especially 
in  Pennsylvania  and  in  Wisconsin,  where  an  abundant  supply 
of  the  desirable  hardwoods  was  found  in  a  location  near  blast 
furnaces  where  pig  iron  was  produced.  Pig  iron,  manu- 
factured by  the  use  of  charcoal  is  considered  far  superior  to 
that  made  by  coke.  The  pig  iron  made  with  charcoal  com- 
monly bring  about  $5  a  ton  more  than  that  manufactured 
with  coke.  The  brick  kilns  were  usually  built  to  hold  50  to 
90  cords  each  and  were  charged  and  discharged  by  hand. 
The  complete  manufacture  of  charcoal  by  the  brick  kilns 
including  charging  and  discharging  required  from  15  to  25 
days.  The  heating  necessary  to  distill  the  wood  is  supplied 
by  the  combustion  of  part  of  the  charge  within  the  apparatus, 
in  the  same  way  that  charcoal  is  made  in  the  open  air  pit. 
The  yield  of  charcoal  by  this  method  is  somewhat  below  that 
manufactured  in  the  retorts  or  ovens  and  is  generally  con- 
sidered inferior  in  grade.  The  brick  kiln  is  only  desirable 
when  the  chief  product  is  charcoal  and  transportation  facili- 
ties are  not  available  or  the  market  is  too  distant  for  the 
other  products  of  wood  distillation,  such  as  wood  alcohol  and 
acetate  of  lime.  Where  other  forms  of  fuel,  such  as  natural 
gas  and  coal  are  out  of  the  question  and  the  manufacture  of 
charcoal  is  desired,  it  is  also  commonly  used. 

Most  of  the  brick  kilns  in  operation  are  in  Michigan  and 
Wisconsin,  where  charcoal  is  in  great  demand  in  connection 
with  iron  furnaces.  There  are  no  brick  kilns  operating  in 
New  York  at  the  present  time  for  the  manufacture  of 
charcoal. 

Iron  Retorts. 

The  iron  retort  followed  the  brick  kiln  and  was  the  first 
device  invented  whereby  the.  vapors  from  the  carbonization 
of  wood  are  collected  on  an  efficient  basis  and  distilled  in  the 
form  of  pyroligenous  acid  and  later  refined  into  wood  alcohol, 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     29 

acetate  of  lime,  etc.  The  yields,  however,  are  much  lower  on 
account  of  slow  firing.  These  retorts  were  small  cylindrical 
vessels  originally  of  cast  iron  and  later  steel  cylinders  50' 
inches  in  diameter  by  9  feet  in  length.  They  were  placed 
horizontally  in  pairs  and  batteries  of  10  to  15  pairs  were 
common  in  long  brick  rows  in  the  earlier  plants.  Each 
retort  was  sufficiently  large  to  hold  about  five-eighths  of  a  cord 
of  wood.  Heating  was  provided  externally  by  a  fire  box 
located  underneath  the  retort.  For  fuel,  coal,  charcoal,  wood 
gas,  wood  oil,  wood  tar,  and  wood  itself,  have  been  used.  The 
retorts  are  built  and  discharged  from  the  single  door  in  front 
which  can  be  fastened  tightly  and  sealed  with  clay  to  prevent 
the  entrance  of  oxygen  after  the  heating  process  is  started. 
Along  the  top  of  these  rows  of  retorts  the  surface  is  bricked 
over  'and  serves  as  a  drying  floor  for  the  acetate  of  lime.  A 
run,  that  is  the  period  from  the  first  charging  of  the  retort 
to  the  removal  of  the  charcoal  after  the  process,  usually 
requires  from  22  to  24  hours. 

Oven  Retorts. 

The  small  round  retort  is  now  being  rapidly  replaced  in 
the  larger  and  more  progressive  plants  by  the  large  rectangu- 
lar retort  or  oven  retort.  This  is  also  known  as  an  oven. 
Up  to  about  1900  a  large  number  of  these  round  retort  plants 
were  in  operation,  but  about  1895  the  oven  retort  came  in 
which  provides  for  loading  and  unloading  the  retort  by  the 
use  of  cars  which  are  run  directly  into  the  chamber.  This 
resulted  in  a  considerable  saving  of  labor  charges  so  that  all 
of  the  new  plants  now  being  constructed  are  introducing  the 
ovens.  In  several  of  the  states,  there  are  not  as  many  plants 
active  now  as  there  were  twenty  years  ago,  but  there  is  a 
vastly  larger  amount  of  wood  being  consumed  per  plant,  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  oven  retorts  can  consume  as  high  as  10 
to  12  cords  in  a  single  oven,  whereas  the  old  round  retort  held 
only  about  five-eighths  to  1  cord  of  wood. 


Photograph  by  .Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Twin  doors  in  front  of  ovens.  When  these  are  opened  after  the  distillation 
process  is  completed,  the  trucks  of  charcoal  are  pulled  by  cable  into  the  first 
cooling  ovens  which  are  to  the  immediate  left  of  the  picture.  In  the  background 
on  the  left  are  shown  the  doors  of  the  second  battery  of  ovens.  This  is  a  four 
oven  plant. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  Beerston  Acetate  Co.  plant,  Beerston,  N.  Y. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     31 

The  modern  hardwood  distillation  plant,  therefore,  is 
usually  the  t>ven  retort  plant.  This  was  a  decided  advance 
in  the  manufacture  of  wood  distillation  products.  As  noted 
above,  it  is  largely  a  labor  saving  device,  and  although  the 
initial  cost  is  considerably  greater  the  operating  charge  per 
cord  is  so  much  smaller  than  with  the  round  retort  that  it  is 
being  universally  introduced.  The  ovens  are  recrangular  in 
cross  section  and  may  be  anywhere  from  25  to  56  feet  in 
length.  The  common  form  is  an  oven  52  feet  in  length,  8 
feet  4  inches  in  height  and  6  feet  3  inches  in  width.  These 
ovens  are  usually  arranged  in  pairs  similar  to  the  process 
followed  with  the  round,  retort.  The  cars,  each  loaded  with 
about  two  cords  of  wood,  are  run  in  on  standard  or  narrow 
gauge  tracks  directly  into  the  ovens.  They  are  heated  in  -a 
manner  similar  to  the  round  retorts,  that  is,  by  means  of  a 
fire  box  underneath,  although  there  may  be  fire  boxes  at  one 
or  both  ends,  and  the  fuel  in  the  Pennsylvania  and  southern 
New  York  regions  is  usually  either  coaLor  natural  gas.  In 
the  Delaware  county  section  the  fuel  consists  of  coal  from  the 
Scranton  region.  The  vapors  pass  out  from  one  or  two  large 
openings  at  the  side  or  at  the  end  and  are  condensed  through 
a  large  copper  condenser.  The  process  of  distillation  re- 
quires from  22  to  24  hours  with  the  oven  retorts,  and  when 
tne  doors  are  unsealed  and  opened,  a  cable  is  attached  to  the 
first  car  and  they  are  drawn  from  the  ovens  directly  into  the 
first  cooling  oven  which  is  of  the  same  type  of  construction 
and  shape  as  the  heating  oven.  The  capacities  of  the  oven 
plants  vary  with  the  number  and  size  of  the  ovens.  In  the 
Lake  States  there  are  some  oven  plants  that  now  consume  as 
high  as  200  cords  a  day.  The  largest  plant  in  New  York 
(State  has  8  ovens  which  consumes  80  cords  of  wood  per  day 
and  has  an  annual  capacity  of  24,000  cords. 

Whereas  the  charcoal  is  emptied  from  the  round  retorts 
into  round  containers,  sealed  tightly  to  cause  the  slow  cooling 


32  College  of  Forestry 

of  the  charcoal  without  admission  of  oxygen,  the  charcoal 
after  the  heating  process  is  completed  in  the  oven  retorts  is 
left  in  the  cars  and  drawn  into  the  first  cooling  oven  and  left 
for  24  hours.  This  is  of  the  same  type  and  construction  as 
the  charring  oven.  The  cars  containing  charcoal  are  then 
drawn  into  second  coolers  where  they  remain  for  24  hours; 
then  left  in  the  open  air  48  hours,  so  that  there  is  a  period 
of  96  hours  which  lapses  between  the  time  of  the  completion 
of  the  heating  process  and  the  time  when  the  charcoal  is 
loaded  on  the  cars.  It  must  remain  on  the  freight  cars  at 
least  12  hours  before  shipment  so  that  108  hours  lapse  to  the 
time  of  final  shipment.  This  precaution  is  taken  to  prevent 
fire,  which  frequently  causes  the  loss  of  charcoal  and  cars  in 
transit. 

Distillation. 

Although  many  changes  have  been  introduced  in  the 
manner  in  which  the  wood  is  heated  for  distillation  pur- 
poses, very  few  changes  have  been  made  within  the  last 
twenty  years  in  the  refining  of  the  crude  distillate. 

In  the  modern  oven  "retort  operation  the  process  requires 
from  23  to  26  hours  for  completion.  When  the  wood  is 
rolled  in  trucks  into  the  ovens,  the  doors  are  hermetically 
sealed  and  the  fires  are  started  underneath.  In  from  one  to 
two  hours  the  wood  is  sufficiently  heated  up  so  that  water 
distillation  takes  place.  This  distillate  contains  about  2  per 
cent  acid.  Then  the  "  green  gas  "  comes  free  for  about  five 
to  six  hours. 

It  is  considered  desirable  to  heat  up  the  wood  gradually 
and  also  to  let  it  cool  off  gradually  at  the  end  of  the  process. 
The  exothermic  process,  that  is,  that  part  of  the  process  in 
which  the  wood  fibers  break  down  under  the  intense  heat, 
does  not  take  place  until  the  temperature  is  run  up  to  about 
300  degrees  Fahrenheit.  In  about  six  hours  after  closing  the 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Looking  down  the  alley  between  the  first  and  second  sets  of  cooling  ovens 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Cadillac,  Cadillac,  Mich.  After  cooling  for  24  hours  in 
the  ovens  to  the  right,  the  trucks  of  charcoal  are  pulled  by  means  of  a  cable 
into  the  cooling  ovens  on  the  left.  Each  cooling  oven  is  52  feet  in  length  and 
holds  four  trucks  at  one  charge.  Note  the  standard  gauge  tracks  between 
the  cooling  ovens  and  the  manner  in  which  the  dirt  is  piled  around  the  base 
of  the  cooling  ovens  to  keep  them  air  tight. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  plant  of  the  Cadillac  Chemical  Co.,  Cadillac,  Mich. 


34  College  of  Forestry 

doors  the  temperature  attains  an  average  of  about  450  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  It  is  then  maintained  between  450  and  600 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  Temperatures  of  over  600  degrees 
Fahrenheit  are  considered  undesirable.  After  about  six 
hours  of  heating  the  pyroligneous  acid  begins  to  flow,  and  the 
best  average  is  maintained  up  to  about  the  eighteenth  hour. 
An  operator  can  determine  from  the  color  of  the  pyroligneous 
acid  whether  there  is  too  much  heat  maintained,  and  if  the 
wood  fibers  have  broken  down  sufficiently.  At  the  end  of  the 
heating  process,  the  distillate  forms  tar  to  a  large  extent. 
After  about  the  eighteenth  hour  the  latent  heat  in  the  oven 
settings  is  sufficient  to  complete  the  process  to  the  end,  but 
the  heat  is  gradually  decreased  until  the  charcoal  is  with- 
drawn. 

As  the  gases  and  vapors  pass  out  through  the  nozzle  of 
the  oven,  they  are  condensed  into  a  yellowish  green,  ill-smell- 
ing liquor  called  pyroligneous  acid.  A  copper  run  takes  this 
condensate  to  the  raw  liquor  "  sump,"  a  tank  in  the  ground, 
and  so  placed  that  the  liquor  will  run  into  it  by  gravity. 
Meanwhile,  the  "  fixed  "  or  noncondensible  gas  is  trapped 
and  taken  off  at  the  outlet  of  the  condenser  and  used  for  fuel 
underneath  the  boilers  or  ovens  or  perhaps  both.  A  simple 
goose  neck  is  used  to  trap  off  the  gas. 

The  pyroligneous  acid  is  next  pumped  from  the  "  sump  " 
in  the  ground  to  a  series  of  wooden  settling  tubs  of  which 
there  should  be  at  least  five  in  number.  These  tubs  are  usu- 
ally from  five  to  eight  feet  in  diameter  and  six  to  eight  feet 
in  height.  The  purpose  of  these  tubs  is  to  settle  the  tar  and 
heavy  oils.  The  heavy  tar  is  taken  to  a  wooden  tar  still 
equipped  with  a  copper  condenser.  This  tar  still  is  of 
wooden  construction  because  the  tar  would  eat  up  the  copper 
in  about  a  year.  The  residue  remaining  in  the  tar  still  is 
utilized  together  with  residue  from  primary  stills  as  boiler 
fuel. 


Photograph  by  The  Matthews  ^orthrup  Works,  Bufialo,  JN.  Y. 

The  Modern  Oven  Condenser. 

This  is  placed  at  the  rear  or  side  of  the  oven  and  the  gases  are  condensed 
through  this  into  the  raw  liquor  called  pyroligneous  acid  and  wood  tar. 


36  College  of  Forestry 

The  pyroligeneous  acid  is  then  run  by  gravity  to  the  pri- 
mary steam-heated  copper  stills  equipped  with  automatic  feed 
in  order  to  supply  the  still  continuously.  The  residue  or 
boiled  tar  which  gradually  fills  up  in  the  still  from  the  bottom 
is  distilled  by  itself  and  run  off  at  intervals  of  a  few  days  or 
whenever  the  deposit  reduces  the  flow  of  distillate  from  the 
still.  During  this  process,  which  is  known  as  "  tarring 
down/7  the  distillate  is  run  into  a  separate  tank  and  the  light 
oils  which  rise  to  the  top  are  drawn  off.  The  acid  liquor  is 
then  piped  to*  storage  tanks  or  tubs  with  the  regular  run  from 
this  still.  These  copper  stills  are  made  in  any  size  which 
will  give  them  the  most  flexible  operation,  that  is,  the  size  is 
determined  by  the  question  of  economy  in  operation  in  labor 
cost.  This  in  turn  depends  upon  the  capacity  of  the  plant 
in  cords  of  wood.  The  vapors  from  the  copper  still  are  con- 
veyed through  a  large  copper  neck  to  an  all  copper  tubular 
condenser  encased  in  a  steel  water  jacket.  The  flow  of 
distillate  from  these  condensers  is  piped  to  storage  tubs. 

From  the  storage  tubs  the  acid  liquor  goes  to  the  liming 
or  neutralizing  tubs.  These  are  wooden  tubs  12  feet  to  14 
feet  in  diameter,  about  4  feet  high,  and  provided  with  an 
agitator  operated  by  a  shaft  and  bevel  gear  from  the  top. 
The  liquor  is  neutralized  by  adding  slacked  lime,  a  small 
quantity  at  a  time.  The  proper  quantity  of  lime  is  commonly 
determined  by  the  color  of  the  liquor,  which  changes  at  the 
neutral  point  between  an  acid  and  alkaline  substance  to  a 
wine  color,  followed  by  a  straw  color  and  the  appearance  of 
beads  on  the  surface. 

From  the  neutralizing  tubs  the  liquor  is  pumped  or  forced 
by  means  of  a  steam  ejector  to  the  "  lime  lee  "  stills.  These 
stills  are  constructed  of  steel  plate,  the  heat  being  applied 
by  copper  steam  coils.  The  alcohol  vapors  pass  off  through 
an  iron  or  copper  neck,  and  are  condensed  in  a  copper  con- 
denser, and  piped  to  storage  tanks. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     37 

When  the  alcohol  has  been  distilled  off  in  the  lime  lee 
stills,  the  residue  or  acetate  solution  is  forced  by  steam  or  air 
pressure  to  a  settling  pan  located  over  the  carbonizing  ovens. 
After  the  impurities  settle  and  are  drawn  off  the  acetate 
liquor  is  run  into  a  large  shallow  steam  jacketed  steel  pan, 
and  boiled  down  to  the  consistency  of  mortar;  it  is  then 
shoveled  out  and  spread  on  brick,  steel  or  concrete  kiln  floors 
over  the  ovens  and  thoroughly  turned  and  dried;  it  is  then 
shoveled  into  sacks  for  shipment  as  acetate  of  lime. 

The  alcohol  liquor  from  the  lime  lee  still  is  drawn  from 
the  storage  tanks  previously  mentioned  into  a  steel  alcohol 
still  provided  with  copper  steam  coils,  and  distilled  off 
through  a  copper  fractionating  column  consisting  of  a  series 
of  baffle  plates  having  a  tubular  water  cooled  separator  at 
the  top.  By  this  process  the  lower  proof  products  are  thrown 
back  for  further  distillation,  while  the  more  volatile  vapors 
pass  over  through  a  condenser,  the  distillate  being  sold  to  the 
refineries  as  finished  crude  alcohol  of  82  per  cent  proof. 

PLANT  EQUIPMENT. 

The  equipment  of  a  modern  hardwood  distillation  plant 
demands  a  comparatively  large  initial  investment.  They  are 
usually  located  with  reference  to  a  large  available  supply  of 
hardwoods  which  can  be  brought  to  the  factory  at  a  compara- 
tively low  cost  per  cord.  From  10  to  40  acres  are  usually 
required  for  the  plant  and  its  adjoining  storage  yards  and 
trackage  facilities.  The  modern  plant  has  from  2  to  8  oven 
retorts  which  are  usually  52  feet  long  and  housed  in  a  retort 
house;  open  space  for  two  sets  of  cooling  ovens;  a  shed  for 
the  cooling  and  shipment  of  charcoal  and  the  still  house  and 
power  plant  which  are  usually  separate  from  the  retort  house. 
Most  of  our  modern  wood  distillation  plants  in  New  York 
cost  from  $50,000  to  $500,000  for  the  initial  investment. 


38  College  of  Forestry 

Before  the  European  War  it  was  usually  estimated  that  a 
complete  plant,  aside  from  timber  lands  and  the  woodyard, 
would  cost  $2,000  per  cord  of  daily  capacity.  Since  the  war 
this  average  has  risen  to  $2,500  per  cord.  However,  this 
may  vary  about  $2,000  and  $3,000  per  cord,  depending  upon 
the  degree  of  completeness,  cost  of  transportation,  labor 
costs,  character  of  the  machinery  and  materials  installed, 
etc.  This  means  that  an  8-oven  plant  with  approximately  an 
80  cord  daily  capacity  will  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$200,000.  Using  these  same  figures,  the  smallest  modern 
oven  plant  with  only  two  ovens  and  with  a  daily  capacity  of 
20  cords,  will  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  $50,000. 

A  plant  with  seven  25-foot  ovens  built  about  fourteen  years 
ago  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  $125,000  fully  equipped. 

The  following  is  a  brief  description  of  the  principal 
features  of  equipment  that  are  usually  found  in  the  hardwood 
distillation  plants  of  New  York  State: 

Storage  Yards. 

The  storage  yards  should  be  in  the  close  vicinity  of  the 
retort  house  and  connected  with  it  by  standard  gauge  tracks 
running  through  the  stacks  of  piled  cordwood.  The  storage 
yards  should  consist  of  between  5  and  20  acres,  depending 
upon  the  capacity  of  the  plant  and  should  be  slightly  raised 
in  elevation  above  the  retort  house  so  that  the  loaded  cars  can 
be  rolled  easily  into  the  ovens  as  needed. 

Inasmuch  as  the  wood  must  be  seasoned  for  between  1  and 
2  years,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  large,  convenient  and  well- 
located  wood  yard  so  that  there  should  be  at  least  6  month's 
seasoned  supply  on  hand  all  the  time. 

At  a  35-cord  capacity  plant  it  is  planned  to  have  10,000 
cords  of  wood  as  an  advance  supply  continually  on  hand. 

The  wood  is  usually  cut  in  50-inch  lengths  and  stacked  in 
long  piles  up  to  12  feet  in  height  on  either  side  of  the 
standard  gauge  tracks  from  which  the  unseasoned  wood  is 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     39 

unloaded  from  freight  cars.  In  other  cases  parallel  roadways 
are  left  open  for  the  wagons  to  unload  directly  from  the 
woods.  Parallel  tracks  between  these  roadways  are  then 
provided  to  load  the  wood  cars  for  the  ovens  after  seasoning. 
In  cylindrical  retort  plants  the  wood  is  commonly  rolled  in  on 
wheelbarrows  or  open  trucks  and  loaded  by  hand. 

Retort  House. 

The  retort  house  is  the  largest  building  in  the  plant.  It 
houses  the  cylindrical  retorts  or  oven  retorts  and  in  some 
cases  the  stills  and  appliances  for  treating  the  pyroligneous 
acid  as  well.  However,  in  the  most  modern  plants,  the  still 
house  is  a  separate  building. 

The  principal  requisite  of  a  retort  house  is  that  it  should  be 
of  fire-proof  construction  on  account  of  the  very  inflammable 
nature  of  charcoal  and  wood  alcohol.  One  retort  house  at  a 
plant  having  a  daily  capacity  of  38  cords,  is  60  feet  in  width 
by  240  feet  long,  20  feet  high  to  the  eaves  and  40  feet  to  the 
peak  of  the  roof.  Steel  beams  and  supports  are  used  through- 
out with  sheet  iron  roof  and  siding.  Other  retort  houses  are 
either  built  of  stone  or  brick  in  order  to  reduce  the  fire  hazard 
and  therefore  obtain  low  insurance  rates.  Most  of  the  New 
York  plants  are  poorly  arranged  because  of  their  enlarge- 
ments from  rather  modest  beginnings  and  no  definite  plan 
seems  to  have  been  followed  in  the  arrangement  of  the  plant. 

Trackage  and  Cars. 

The  tracks  are  usually  standard  gauge  with  the  rails  from 
40  to  75  pounds  in  weight  and  are  so  arranged  as  to  bring 
the  wood  from  the  storage  yards  to  the  retort  house  and  then 
to  conduct  the  cars  loaded  with  charcoal  through  the  two  sets 
of  cooling  ovens  and  out  to  the  charcoal  shed  where  the  char: 
coal  is  loaded  on  freight  cars.  The  most  modern  plants  have 
the  progressive  arrangement,  that  is,  the  loaded  cars  come 
from  the  storage  yards  directly  to  the  retort  house;  follow 


40  College  of  Forestry 

through  in  one  continuous  direction  to  the  first  cooling  oven 
and  then  to  the  second  and  on  out  to  the  charcoal  sheds  where 
the  charcoal  is  shipped.  The  return  tracks  take  the  empty 
cars  back  to  the  storage  yards  where  they  are  reloaded  and 
the  same  process  followed  out. 

The  cars  are  all  of  steel  construction  and  hold  from  2  to 
%y2  cords  of  50-inch  wood.  A  50  to  54-foot  oven  will  hold 
4  of  these  cars  in  one  charge.  A  25-foot  oven  will  hold  2 
of  them.  They  are  built  in  different  sizes  but  the  usual  style 
of  car  is  52  inches  wide,  6  feet  6  inches  high  and  12  feet  6 
inches  long  with  4  small  wheels.  They  first  came  into  use 
in  the  middle  nineties  and  have  proven  to  be  a  great  success. 

The  cars  cost  from  $80  to  $140  apiece,  f.  o.  b.  at  Warren, 
Pa.  They  last  indefinitely  according  to  most  of  the  operators, 
so  that  there  is  very  little  depreciation  charge  on  them.  Both 
sides  of  the  car  are  detachable  to  facilitate  the  loading  and 
emptying  of  the  cars. 

Retorts. 

The  old  iron  retort  was  a  cylindrical  vessel  holding  about 
five-eighths  of  a  cord.  The  standard  size  was  50  inches  in 
diameter  by  9  feet  in  length.  Cord  wood  48  inches  in  length 
was  used  instead  of  the  50-inch  length  commonly  used  in  the 
oven  retorts.  The  retorts  are  set  in  brick  work  in  pairs,  each 
pair  forming  a  battery  and  heated  directly  from  beneath. 
They  are  charged  and  discharged  from  a  single  door  in  front 
which  can  be  hermetically  sealed.  Considerable  labor  is 
involved  in  the  charging  and  discharging  of  these  retorts  and 
the  ovens  with  the  cars  running  directly  into  them  on  tracks 
are  a  great  improvement.  With  the  invention  of  the  ovens 
in  the  early  nineties  very  few  of  the  old  round  retorts  were 
installed.  In  fact,  all  of  the  new  plants  being  developed  in 
New  York  State  have  the  long  oven  retorts.  At  the  present 
time  there  are  352  retorts  distributed  over  15  plants  in 
different  parts  of  the  State. 


.Photograph  by  .Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Cylindrical  retorts  of  an  old-fashioned  retort  plant,  now  burned  down  and 
dismantled.  These  retorts  are  arranged  in  batteries  of  two  and  are  heated 
by  direct  heat  underneath.  Each  retort  contains  about  f  of  a  cord  and  must 
be  loaded  and  unloaded  by  hand.  The  modern  oven  is  a  vast  improvement 
over  this  old-fashioned  method. 

This  photograph  was  taken  at  the  Keery  Chemical  Co.,  Cadosia,  N.  Y. 


42  College  of  Forestry 

Ovens. 

The  oven  or  oven  retort  is  a  vast  improvement  over  the 
round  retort,  the  chief  advantages  being  that  a  large  amount 
of  wood  can  be  distilled  at  one  time  and  considerable  labor  is 
saved  in  charging  and  discharging  the  ovens,  the  loaded  wood 
cars  being  run  directly  in  from  one  end  on  tracks  and  hauled 
out  by  means  of  a  cable  on  the  other  end  to  the  first  cooling 
oven. 

These  ovens  in  cross  section  are  6  feet  3  inches  wide  and 
8  feet  4  inches  high.  In  length  they  vary  from  25  feet  to 
50  feet,  although  the  usual  length  used  at  the  present  time 
is  a  52-foot  oven  which  holds  4  cars.  These  ovens  are  usually 
installed  in  batteries,  that  is,  2  ovens  being  placed  close 
together  and  called  a  battery.  In  Michigan  there  are  as  many 
as  7  to  10  batteries  in  a  single  plant.  The  largest  New 
York  plant  contains  8  ovens  and  is  located  at  Corbett  in 
Delaware  county.  Altogether  in  New  York  State  there  are 
46  ovens  distributed  over  10  plants. 

These  ovens  have  air-tight  doors  on  one  or  both  ends, 
depending  upon  whether  the  charcoal  is  to  be  taken  out  in 
the  same  direction  as  it  entered  or  sent  out  through  the  pro- 
gressive form  of  trackage  arrangement.  The  ovens  are  of 
steel,  usually  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  while  the 
bottoms  and  backs  are  of  one-half  inch  material.  The  oven 
is  sustained  by  means  of  angle  irons  riveted  perpendicularly 
on  the  sides  and  on  one  side  near  the  top  are  riveted  cast  iron 
nozzles,  usually  two  in  number,  which  are  attached  to  the 
condensers.  In  the  heating  process  it  is  said  that  the  52-foot 
oven  will  expand  4  inches  in  length  due  to  the  tremendous 
heat  applied  during  distillation.  These  ovens  only  last  from 
3  to  12  years,  so  that  the  depreciation  charge  is  very  high. 

The  52-foot  oven  costs  about  $1,800  and  approximately 
an  equal  amount  is  required  to  install  and  set  it  up  ready 
for  operation. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     43 

Cooling  Ovens. 

In  every  oven  retort  plant  the  charcoal  is  gradually  cooled 
by  being  run  into  cooling  ovens  located  immediately  in  front 
of  the  retort  house  in  the, open  air.  The  first  cooling  oven  is 
about  8  to  10  feet  from  the  charring  oven  and  the  second 
cooling  oven  about  an  equal  distance  beyond  the  first  cooling 
oven.  The  accompanying  photographs  show  the  arrangement 
of  the  cooling  ovens  in  relation  to  the  retort  house.  The  cool- 
ing ovens  appear  to  be  the  same  in  size,  shape  and  construc- 
tion as  are  the  ovens  themselves.  However,  the  sides  are  only 
of  three-sixteenths  inch  steel  and  usually  there  are  doors  at 
both  ends.  There  are  no  bottoms  to  these  cooling  ovens  as 
they  rest  directly  011  the  ground.  Dirt  is  piled  around  the 
base  to  prevent  the  admission  of  air. 

The  cars  with  the  heated  charcoal,  after  the  distilling 
process,  are  rolled  directly  into  the  first  cooling  oven.  As 
soon  as  the  air  is  admitted  on  the  opening  of  the  doors,  the 
charcoal  bursts  in  flame  and  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  cars 
are  rolled  into  the  cooling  oven  the  doors  are  hermetically 
sealed,  so  that  the  charcoal  will  cool  slowly.  The  charcoal 
is  left  for  24  hours  in  the  first  cooling  oven,  24  hours  in  the 
second  cooling  oven,  then  is  left  at  least  48  hours  in  an  open 
shed  or  in  the  open  air  and  after  being  loaded  on  the  freight 
cars  it  is  left  standing  for  at  least  12  hours  before  shipping. 
This  means  a  total  of  -108  hours  from  the  time  of  heating  to 
the  time  of  leaving  the  yard.  A  government  regulation  pre- 
scribes this  procedure  because  "  punky  "  knots  hold  fire  for  a 
long  time  in  the  charcoal  and  it  is  necessary  that  these 
extreme  precautions  be  taken  to  prevent  burning  of  the 
cars. 

In  some  of  the  plants,  an  outlet  pipe  is  used  near  the  top 
of  the  cooling  oven  to  permit  the  escape  of  the  acid  fumes. 
It  is  claimed  by  some  that  this  saves  the  eating  of  the  iron 
by  these  fumes. 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

General  view  of  "the "plant  of  the  Beerston  Acetate  Co.,  Beerston,  Delaware 
county,  N.  Y.  On  the  right  is  shown  the  oven  house  containing  four  52 -foot 
ovens.  In  the  center  is -shown  a  battery  of  cooling  ovens  into  which  heated 
charcoal  is  drawn  in  trucks  and  left  standing  for  24  hours.  The  end  of  the  second 
cooling  oven  is  shown  on  the  extreme  left. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York    45 

Still  House. 

The  provision  for  redistilling  the  pyroligneous  liquor  is 
usually  housed  in  the  old  plants  along  with  the  cylindrical 
retorts  but  in  the  more  modern  oven  plants  the  apparatus  is 
placed  in  a  separate  fire-proof  building  usually  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  power  house  or  in  connection  with  it. 

The  equipment  of  the  still  house  consists  principally  of 
the  settling  tubs,  neutralizing  tubs,  storage  tubs,  steam  pans, 
copper  and  iron  stills,  condensers,  fractionating  column,  etc., 
required  for  the  three  principal  distillations  previously 
described.  Although  the  equipment  in  some  small  details 
may  vary  in  each  plant,  the  general  process  of  separating 
the  acetate  of  lime  and  the  wood  alcohol  as  well  as  the  wood 
tar,  is  the  same  as  was  in  common  practice  about  20  years 
ago. 

For  each  separate  plant,  however,  individual  plans  are 
drawn  up  to  meet  the  requirements  of  local  conditions. 
Altogether  it  is  estimated  that  the  equipment  of  the  still 
house  costs  between  $430  and  $500  per  cord  of  daily  capacity. 
In  the  description  of  processes  of  manufacture,  the  function 
of  the  various  equipment  in  the  still  house  is  described. 

The  following  is  the  usual  equipment  used  or  recommended 
for  a  hardwood  distillation  plant  consuming  30  cords  of  wood 
per  day : 

Ketort  condensers  including  tubs  and  outlet  connections,  number  and 
size  depending  upon  style  of  retort  or  oven  installed. 

Copper  liquor  run  for  conducting  raw  liquor  from  condenser  outlets 
to  storage  tub. 

Copper  gas  main  and  connection  for  conducting  wood  gas  from  con- 
denser outlets  to  boiler  for  fuel. 

5  wooden  setting  tubs  for  raw  liquor  from  storage  tank  above  men- 
tioned. 

1  copper  still  complete  with  copper  steam  coils,  neck  and  condenser 
for  first  distillation  of  raw  liquor.  Wooden  storage  tubs  for  liquor 
from  copper  still. 

Wooden  liming  tub  with  power  agitator  for  neutralizing  liquor  from 
storage  tubs  above  mentioned. 

1  iron  lime  lee  still  fitted  with  copper  steam  coils  and  condenser 
(an  iron  neck  may  be  used  on  this  still). 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     47 

1  or  2  steel  storage  ranks  for  lime  lee  liquor. 

1  steel  alcohol  still  with  copper  steam  coils,  column,  separator  and 
condenser  for  producing  82%  crude  alcohol  from  lime  lee  liquor  above 
mentioned. 

Steel  storage  tank  and  one  large  steel  shipping  tank  for  raw  liquor. 
The  residue  from  lime  lee  stills  (acetate  of  lime)  would  be  piped  to 
the  open  steel  settling  tank  and  then  to  steam  pan.  The  acetate  of  lime 
would  then  be  shoveled  from  steam  pan  to  drying  floor  on  top  of  ovens 
if  possible  in  order  to  utilize  waste  heat  from  ovens. 

The  use  of  a  small  wooden  tar  still  with  copper  neck  and 
condenser  for  distilling  raw  tar  from  settlers  which  contain 
a  considerable  quantity  of  alcohol  is  also  recommended. 

For  refining  the  crude  alcohol  further  one  would  require  one  steel 
still  with  copper  steam  coils,  refining  column,  separator  and  condenser 
for  first  distillation;  one  steel  still  with  copper  steam  coils,  column  of 
different  type  than  used  in  first  distillation  including  separator  and 
cooler  for  second  distillation.  The  alcohol  in  first  and  second  distillation 
is  treated  with  caustic  soda.  A  steel  tank  graduated  in  inches  or 
gallons  should  be  provided  for  caustic  soda  storage  and  charging  stills. 

2  steel   storage  tanks   would  be  required  for  each   still,   each  tank 
having  the  capacity  equal  to  still. 

An  all  copper  still  with  copper  steam  coils,  refining  column  of  special 
type  including  separator,  cooler,  hydrometer  jar,  necks,  etc.,  complete 
would  be  required  for  third  distillation.  The  alcohol  would  be  treated 
with  sulphuric  acid  in  this  distillation.  Suitable  storage  and  shipping 
tanks  which  may  be  of  steel  to  be  provided  for  finished  goods. 

Tlr's  latter  outfit  would  produce  commercial  refined  alcohol 
of  95%  to  97 %  purity. 

Drying  Floor. 

The  drying  floor  is  a  flat,  level  space  surfaced  with  cement 
or  concrete  usually  placed  over  the  ovens.  The  heat  of  the 
ovens  furnishes  the  necessary  temperature  to  dry  out  the 
acetate  of  lime.  After  being  dried  it  is  bagged  up  and 
shipped  directly  in  freight  cars. 

Charcoal  House. 

The  charcoal  house  is  usually  an  open-constructed  affair 
slightly  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  oven  house  so  that  the 
cars  containing  charcoal  can  be  unloaded  directly  into  box 
cars  or  into  charcoal  bins.  The  trucks  containing  charcoal 
must  be  left  either  in  the  open  air  or  standing  in  the  charcoal 


48  College  of  Forestry 

house  at  least  48  hours  before  the  charcoal  can  be  dumped  into 
the  box  cars.  Most  of  the  charcoal  is  shipped  in  the  loose 
state.  Sometimes  it  is  separated  into  as  many  as  five  grades, 
the  finer  product  being  bagged  and  shipped  in  sacks  contain- 
ing 25  or  50  pounds  each.  In  all  cases  the  charcoal  house  is 
well  removed  from  the  oven  house  to  decrease  the  danger 
from  fire.  It  is  also  well  protected  by  means  of  hose,  water 
pails,  fire  extinguishers,  etc.,  to  minimize  the  fire  hazard. 

Cost  of  Plant  and  Equipment. 

As  outlined  before,  the  initial  cost  of  a  modern  complete 
wood  distillation  plant  is  very  large.  It  is  estimated  that 
under  present  market  conditions  an  investment  of  $2,500 
should  be  provided  for  each  cord  of  capacity.  That  is,  if  a 
plant  is  so  designed  to  be  of  50  cords  capacity,  the  initial 
investment  required  would  probably  be  about  $125,000. 

Before  the  great  European  war,  it  was  generally  estimated 
that  a  complete  plant  would  cost  about  $2,0-00  per  cord  of 
capacity.  The  difference  in  the  above  estimates  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  cost  of  iron,  steel,  copper  and  other  materials 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  wood  distillates,  have  risen  tre- 
mendously as  a  result  of  the  competition  to  better  conditions 
in  this  country,  together  with  a  demand  for  supplies  from 
European  countries. 

The  old  fashioned  cylindrical  retort  plant  is  much  less 
expensive  for  the  initial  expense  but  the  heavy  charges  due  to 
labor  result  in  excessive  operating  charges.  A  24-round 
retort  plant,  that  is,  one  containing  a  battery  of  12  pairs 
with  each  pair  of  retorts  holding  about  1^  cords,  costs 
$75,000  for  the  entire  plant. 

When  it  is  figured  that  the  modern  plant  costs  $2,500  per 
cord  of  capacity,  it  is  estimated  that  one-third  of  this  charge 
is  for  buildings,  while  the  apparatus  costs  about  two-thirds. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     49 

PLANT  OPERATION. 

The  following  are  the  principal  features  of  plant  opera- 
tion. Each  is  briefly  described,  giving  the  principal  commer- 
cial features  involved,  such  as  costs,  per  cord  charges,  and 
other  commercial  features  involved  in  the  operation  of  a 
wood  distillation  plant. 

Fuel. 

Altogether  there  are  six  forms  of  fuel  commonly  used  in 
the  hardwood  distillation  industry.  They  are  as  follows: 
Coal,  natural  gas,  charcoal,  wood,  wood  tar  and  wood  gas. 
Altogether  coal  is  most  commonly  used.  In  the  district  cen- 
tering around  Olean  many  of  the  plants  use  natural  gas. 
Most  of  the  plants  in  the  Olean  district,  however,  are  just 
over  the  New  York  line  in  Pennsylvania.  The  plant  at 
Vandalia  is  the  only  one  in  the  district  in  New  York  State. 
Both  hard  and  soft  coal  are  commonly  used  for  the  purposes 
of  direct  heating  and  the  production  of  steam.  Most  of  the 
Delaware  county  plants  use  coal.  Practically  all  of  the  plants 
in  the  State  use  the  wood  tar  and  wood  gas,  which  are 
products  of  the  distillation  process,  directly  under  the  ovens 
or  retorts  or  under  the  boilers. 

The  estimates  regarding  the  cost  of  fuel  vary  considerably. 
Altogether  estimates  were  received  from  $1.15  to  $2  per  cord. 
The  cost  will  naturally  vary  with  the  kind  of  fuel  used,  the 
distance  from  source  of  supply,  efficiency  of  boilers  and 
steam  pipes  and  other  correlated  factors.  In  one  of  the 
larger  plants  of  the  State  which  has  seven  25-foot  ovens,  it 
was  estimated  that  300  bushels  of  charcoal,  300  gallons  of 
wood  tar  and  all  of  the  available  wood  gas  were  used  for  each 
charge  of  seven  ovens.  .  At  a  prominent  plant  in  Delaware 
county  it  was  estimated  that  300  pounds  of  soft  bituminous 
coal  were  used  for  the  distillation  of  one  cord  of  wood.  In  an 
oven  containing  ten  cords,  therefore,  this  would  require  3,000 
pounds  of  soft  coal  for  one  charge.  It  is  estimated  that 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Cars  loaded  with  seasoned  wood  ready  to  be  pulled  into  the  ovens,  the  doors 
of  which  are  shown  at  the  oven  house.  The  ovens  are  charged  every  24  hours. 
This  illustrates  the  progressive  arrangement,  the  cars  after  the  distillation 
process  being  pulled  out  the  farther  side  into  the  cooling  ovens. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  Beerston  Acetate  Co.,  Beerston,  Delaware  county, 
N.  Y. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     51 

the  fuel  value  of  wood  tar  is  at  least  twice  as  much  as  that 
of  coal  for  a  given  weight. 

Labor. 

Labor  is  a  very  important  item  in  the  cost  of  production. 
Altogether  the  labor  is  unskilled  at  all  of  the  plants  with  the 
exception  of  the  plant  superintendent  or  manager,  and  in  the 
case  of  the  largest  plants  there  is  a  chemist  or  expert  engineer 
employed  who  receives  more  than  the  ordinary  day  wages. 
There  is  a  distinct  tendency  to  raise  wages  at  the  various 
plants.  At  the  present  time  these  vary  between  $1.50  per 
day  to  $1.60  at  one  plant  up  to  $2  per  day  at  others.  All 
plants,  of  course,  run  night  and  day  but  there  is  a  very  small 
force  engaged  in  the  work  during  the  night  time.  At  most  of 
the  plants  there  is  a  given  piece  of  work  to  be  done  each  day, 
and  when  this  is  completed  the  men  are  free  for  the  rest  of 
the  time.  ,  For  instance,  in  the  wood  yard,  the  day's  work 
may  consist  of  loading  so  many  cars  of  wood.  When  this 
particular  work  is  completed,  the  men  are  through  for  the 
day. 

Altogether  the  larger  the  plant  the  greater  is  the  economy 
in  labor.  The  greatest  saving  in  labor  in  the  development  of 
the  industry,  has  been  the  change  from  the  old  round  retort 
plant  to  the  modern  oven  plant.  Owing  to.  the  fact  that  the 
trucks  are  pulled  in  and  out  of  the  oven  by  means  of  a  power 
cable,  there  is  a  great  saving  in  labor  over  the  old  round 
retort  plants  where  the  retorts  had  to  be  loaded  and  discharged 
by  hand. 

At  a  4-oven  plant  having  a  capacity  of  40  cords  per  day, 
there  were  the  following  employees : 

2  firemen  at  the  boilers. 

2  men  in  the  still  house. 

2  firemen  for  the  ovens. 

4  men  in  the  dry-kiln. 

4  men  to  charge  and  draw  extra  trucks  or  cars. 


52  College  of  Forestry 

1  extra  man  about  the  piping. 

2  men  in  the  wood  yard,  handling  wood. 

1  foreman. 

This  makes  a  total  of  18  men  on  the  24-hour  shift,  that  is, 
there  are  13  men  on  during  the  day  and  5  during  the  night. 
This  list  does  not  include  the  teamsters  used  in  drawing  the 
wood  from  the  chopping  area  to  the  storage  yards. 

At  a  2-oven  plant  there  were  12  men  employed  beside  the 
superintendent.  All  of  these  men  were  common  labor  paid 
at  the  rate  of  $1.50  per  day.  The  firemen  were  on  8-hour 
shifts  and  all  others  were  on  10-hour  shifts.  The  following 
shows  the  number  of  men  required  on  this  particular 
operation : 

2  still  house  men,  one  on  the  night,  and  the  other  on  the 
day  shift. 

2  kiln  men,  one  on  the  night  and  one  on  the  day  shift. 

3  firemen  in  8-hour  shifts  each. 

3  oven  men  to  load  wood  on  cars  or  coal  screener. 
3  extra  handy  men. 

The  labor  cost  per  cord  varies  very  much.  In  two  plants 
the  costs  were  $1.15  and  $1.18  per  cord  respectively.  At 
other  plants  the  labor  cost  is  sometimes  as  high  as  $1.50  to 
$1.70  per  cord.  The  labor  charge  is  considerably  higher,  of 
course,  in  the  cylindrical  retort  plants  than  in  the  oven  plants 
due  to  the  reasons  given  above. 

Depreciation  Charges. 

Owing  to  the  intense  heat  required  to  distill  the  wood,  and 
the  acid  nature  of  the  products,  depreciation  charges  on  the 
ovens,  retorts,  cars  and  distilling  apparatus  are  very  heavy. 
Ovens  usually  last  only  from  3  to  12  years.  The  coolers  last 
much  longer  as  a  rule  and  the  wood  cars  last  from  12  to  20 
years.  Altogether  a  depreciation  charge  of  from  50  cents  to 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Charcoal  cooler  used  in  the  old  cylindrical  retort  plants.  The  charcoal  was 
shovelled  from  the  retorts  directly  into  this  container  and  kept  in  an  air-tight 
condition  to  prevent  combustion.  In  the  modern  plant  the  charcoal  is  now 
cooled  in  the  same  truck  in  which  it  is  heated,  the  trucks  being  run  into  cooling 
ovens  on  standard  gauge  tracks. 

Photograph  taken  at  the  dismantled  retort  plant  of  the  Keery  Chemical  Co., 
Cadosia,  N.  Y. 


54:  College  of  Forestry 

$1  per  cord  is  customary  at  most  of  the  plants.    However,  the 
usual  charge  is  likely  to  be  nearer  $1  than  the  lower  figure. 

The  life  of  the  copper  apparatus  is  about  10  to  12  years 
and  there  is  considerable  salvage  on  old  copper. 

Cost  of  Operation. 

The  cost  of  operation  depends  on  a  large  number  of  factors, 
the  chief  of  which  are  the  charges  for  wood,  fuel  and  labor. 
Transportation  charges  for  material  such  as  fuel,  supplies, 
etc.,  are  also  an  important  consideration. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  say  what  the  average  costs  of  operation 
should  be.  They  are  usually  figured  or  based  on  the  charges 
per  cord.  At  the  various  plants,  the  method  of  cost  computa- 
tion varies  considerably  so  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  compare 
one  with  another.  The  degree  of  efficiency  also  varies  con- 
siderably as  it  is  very  difficult  in  this  respect  to  compare 
them.  At  an  oven  retort  that  has  been  run  for  some  time 
in  Delaware  county,  the  costs  per  cord  were  figured  as 
follows : 

Wood $4.00 

Labor :  1 . 50 

Fuel 1.77 

Lime .' .19 

Supplies,  oils,  etc .32 

General  expenses .51 

Depreciation .58 

Insurance .08 

Taxes .  .  22 


Total $9.17 


The  above  computation  was  based  on  a  month's  run  and  a 
very  careful  record  was  kept  of  all  costs.  There  were  16 
men  employed  at  this  factory,  not  including  the  men  engaged 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     55 

in  cutting  and  hauling  the  wood,  nor  the  office  force.  The 
standard  wage  scale  was  $1.60  per  day  and  the  factory  was 
located  in  the  region  in  which  a  plentiful  supply  of  wood 
could  be  obtained. 

At  another  oven  plant  the  following  costs  were  observed. 
These  are  also  given  per  cord  of  wood. 

Wood $4. 00 

Fuel 1.50 

Labor 2.00 

Depreciation,  etc 1 . 00 

Marketing 1 . 47 


Total.  $9.97 


Yields. 

The  yield  of  products  at  hardwood  distillation  plants  varies 
considerably.  The  yield  at  any  particular  plant  depends 
upon  the  following  factors: 

1.  Temperature,    that    is,    the   maximum   and   minimum 
temperatures  used  during  the  exothermic  process. 

2.  The  rapidity  of  heating.     Too  rapid  heating  will  cause 
a  much  smaller  and  lower  grade  of  product.     Usually  about 
10  hours  is  the  time  required  to  get  wood  up  to  the  highest 
temperatures.    If  heating  is  done  too  rapidly  the  color  of  the 
pyroligneous  acid  is  much  darker  and  the  yields  are  conse- 
quently much  lower. 

3.  The  species  of  wood.     There  is  a  general  consensus  of 
opinion  among  the  New  York  plants,  that  maple  is  the  best 
wood  with  beech  next  and  birch  third.     Oak  and  hickory  are 
also  desirable  species  but  if  there  is  too  much  soft  maple, 
basswood,  poplar,  gray  birch  or  other  inferior  species,  the 
yields  will  be  lowered. 

4.  The  character  of  the  wood.  It  is  generally  assumed  that 
the  dryer  and  more  thoroughly  the  wood  is  seasoned,  the 


56  College  of  Forestry 

better  will  be  the  product.  It  is  also  true  that  heart  wood 
yields  much  larger  and  better  products  than  sapwood,  and 
body  wood  is  much  more  desirable  than  limb  wood. 

5.  Efficiency  of  the  plant.  This  is  determined  by  the 
character  of  the  machinery  and  equipment,  arrangement  of 
the  apparatus  and  many  other  factors  connected  with  the 
efficiency  of  an  operation. 

The  products  of  hardwood  distillation  in  New  York  State 
are  as  follows :  wood  alcohol,  acetate  of  lime,  charcoal,  wood 
tar  and  wood  gas.  The  latter  two  are  practically  always  used 
as  fuel  under  the  boilers  or  retorts. 

From  an  investigation  of  the  25  plants  in  New  York  State 
it  was  determined  that  an  average  yield  of  42.7  bushels  of 
charcoal  are  obtained  per  cord  of  wood  from  all  of  the  plants. 
There  was  a  maximum  yield  of  50  bushels  of  charcoal  per 
cord  and  a  minimum  yield  of  3.8  bushels. 

The  average  estimated  yield  of  acetate  of  lime  was  199.47 
pounds  per  cord  of  wood.  The  minimum  was  171  pounds  and 
the  maximum  220  pounds. 

In -wood  alcohol  the  average  yield  was  9.9  gallons  of  82% 
wood  alcohol  per  cord  ©f  wood.  The  minimum  was  8  gallons 
and  the  maximum  11  gallons  per  cord. 

It  is  estimated  that  between  23  and  28  gallons  of  wood 
tar  are  secured  per  cord  with  an  average  of  about  25  gallons. 
It  is  estimated  that  about  11,500  cubic  feet  of  gas  are  secured 
per  cord  of  wood. 

These  figures  are  based  upon  the  individual  estimates  of 
the  various  wood  distillation  plants  of  the  State.  Altogether 
much  better  yields  are  secured  from  the  oven  plants  than 
from  the  cylindrical  retort  plants. 

Value  of  Products. 

One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  to  engaging  in  the  wood 
distillation  business  has  been  the  great  fluctuation  in  the  price 


Photograph  by  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

f   End  view  of  a  pair  of  cooling  ovens  showing  the  character  of  the  door,  lugs 
and  method  of  heaping  dirt  around  the  base  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  air. 
The  trucks  loaded  with  the  heated  charcoal  are  drawn  directly  from  the  oven- 
house  into  the  first  cooling'oven  and  left  there  for  24_hours.    They  are  then  drawn 
into  the  second  cooling  oven  for  another  24  hours.     After  that,  the  charcoal 
stands  in  the  trucks  in  the  open  air  for  48  hours,  after  which  it  is  loaded  on  the 
freight  cars  where  it  remains  12  hours  before  it  is  sent  off  to  its  destination. 
•    These  cooling  ovens  are  kept  air  tight  to  prevent  combustion  of  the  heated 
charcoal. 
[_  Beerston  Acetate  Co.,HBeerston,  Delaware  county,  N.  Y. 


58  College  of  Forestry 

levels  for  all  of  the  principal  products,  namely,  acetate  of 
lime,  wood  alcohol  and  charcoal. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  industry,  charcoal  was  the  prin- 
cipal product  and  it  brought  from  10  cents  to  20  cents  a 
bushel  or  more.  Then  acetate  of  lime  became  the  principal 
product  sought  after  and  finally  the  wood  alcohol.  Before 
the  Federal  legislation,  the  profits  were  very  excellent  and 
attractive  but  since  1907  and  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  great 
European  war  on  August  1,  1914,  price  levels  were  very 
uncertain  and  several  of  the  concerns  were  driven  out  of 
business. 

Up  to  the  time  of  this  war,  the  prices  obtained  for  acetate 
of  lime  varied  between  $1.25  to  $2  per  hundred  pounds. 
Since  August  1,  1914,  the  following  price  levels  have  been 
obtained : 

August  to  October 1914—  $1.50  per  100  Ibs. 

November 1914  -      1.75  per  100  Ibs. 

December 1914  -      2.00  per  100  Ibs. 

January 1915  -      2.00  per  100  Ibs. 

February  to  May 1915  -      2.50  per  100  Ibs. 

June  to  August 1915  -      3.50  per  100  Ibs. 

September  to  October 1915  -      4.00  per.  100  Ibs. 

November  to  December .  .  .  .  1915  -      5.00  per  100  Ibs. 

January 1916  -      6.00  per  100  Ibs. 

February  to  August 1916  -      7.00  per  100  Ibs. 

September 1916  -      5.00  per  100  Ibs. 

October 1916  -      3.50  per  100  Ibs. 

In  regard  to  wood  alcohol,  the  prices  have  also  fluctuated 
considerably.  Quotations  varied  between  30  cents  and  45 
cents  per  gallon  for  the  crude  82%  alcohol.  Since  the  out- 
break of  the  war,  however,  the  use  of  both  wood  alcohol  and 
acetate  of  lime  have  been  greatly  stimulated  for  their  use  in 
the  manufacture  of  certain  war  munitions  and  the  prices 
have  steadily  advanced. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     59 

During  the  year  1914  the  market  price  of  82%  crude  wood 
alcohol  was  25  cents  per  gallon  delivered  to  the  refineries  in 
tank  cars  and  the  price  of  95%  refined  delivered  to  buyers 
in  free  wooden  barrels  to  points  east  of  the  Mississippi  river 
45  cents  per  gallon  in  1  to  10  bbl.  lots  and  a  small  discount 
in  carloads.  Prices  held  at  these  figures  until  October,  1915, 
when  the  price  of  95%  refined  wood  alcohol  began  to  advance 
first  to  50  cents,  later  to  55  cents,  then  on  February  of  1916 
to  65  cents,  and  on  October  1,  1916,  to  TO  cents,  the  price 
of  crude  steadily  advancing  to  the  present  figure  of  45  cents 
per  gallon.  These  advances  were  made  possible  by  the  rapid 
increase  in  the  price  of  denatured  alcohol,  this  material  now 
being  60  cents  per  gallon.  There  is  every  indication  that  the 
price  of  both  alcohols  has  gone  sufficiently  high  for  some 
time  to  come.  In  the  spring  of  1916,  97%  refined  alcohol 
brought  TO  cents  per  gallon.  Methyl  acetone  was  worth 
90  cents  to  95  cents  per  gallon  and  pure  methyl  or  Columbian 
methanol  was  worth  $1  a  gallon. 

With  the  increased  use  of  both  acetate  of  lime  and  wood 
alcohol,  the  demand  for  charcoal  has  not  kept  pace  with  these 
other  two  products,  and  consequently  prices  have  suffered 
very  materially.  At  the  present  time,  charcoal  is  only  bring- 
ing around  5  cents  to  6  cents  per  bushel.  In  1914  it  was 
bringing  7  cents  a  bushel  wholesale  at  the  acid  factory.  The 
estimated  production  of  charcoal  in  this  country  before  the 
war  broke  out,  was  about  five  million  bushels  a  month  and 
the  iron  furnaces  took  by  far  the  greatest  proportion  of  this. 

Practically  all  of  the  products  of  the  wood  distillation 
industry  are  sold  wholesale  in  carload  lots  at  the  factory. 
The  wood  alcohol  is  shipped  in  tank  cars  or  in  tight  barrels. 
Charcoal  is  shipped  in  sacks  and  the  acetate  of  lime  is  also 
shipped  in  sacks  or  bags.  Up  to  the  present  time,  no  regular 
market  has  been  developed  either  for  the  wood  gas  or  wood 
tar.  Both  of  these  are  usually  now  consumed  as  fuel  under- 


60 


College  of  Forestry 


neath  the  retorts.  It  is  very  likely  that  some  time  in  the 
future  a  definite  market  will  be  developed  for  the  utilization 
of  wood  oils  and  wood  tar.  It  can  he  made  into  creosote 
but  the  process  is  so  expensive  that  this  form  cannot  compete 
successfully  with  coal  tar  creosotes. 

The  following  table  shows  a  comparison  of  values  of 
products  per  cord  under  conditions  prevailing  in  1914,  and 
those  occurring  in  1916.  This  table  is  based  upon  the  average 
of  yields  of  acetate  of  lime,  wood  alcohol  and  charcoal  per 
cord.  The  values  are  those  described  before.  The  following 
table  shows  that  the  operators  were  receiving  more  than  twice 
as  much  for  their  products  under  market  conditions  in  the 
Spring  of  1916  than  they  did  under  those  prevailing  before 
the  war. 


Yield 
per  cord 

Value  per 
unit  1916 

Value  per 
cord  1916 

Value  per 
unit  1914 

Value  per 
cord  1914 

Acetate  of  lime  
Wood  alcohol  
Charcoal  

199.47  Ibs. 
9.90  gals. 
47.7  bu. 

Cents 
7 
37 
6 

$13  97 
3  66 
2  86 

Cents 
1.7 
25. 

7. 

$3  39 
2  48 
3  34 

$20  49 

$9  21 

UTILIZATION  OF  PRODUCTS. 

The  utilization  of  the  products  of  the  hardwood  distillation 
industry  has  been  a  great  problem,  especially  since  the 
Federal  law  of  1907  went  into  effect.  The  greatest  money 
return  is  received  from  disposal  of  the  acetate  of  lime  and 
the  prices  received  for  this  product  have  undergone  great 
fluctuation. 

Altogether  there  are  three  primary  products  derived  from 
the  process,  namely,  the  raw  pyroligneous  acid,  the  wood  gas 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     61 

and  the  charcoal  which  remains  as  a  residue  from  the  distilla- 
tion of  the  wood.  The  secondary  products  as  a  result  of  the 
separation  of  the  tar  from  the  pyroligneous  acid  and  the 
further  distillation  of  the  pyroligneous  acid,,  are  first,  wood 
tar,  second,  acetate  of  lime  and  third,  wood  alcohol. 

The  utilization  of  the  'five  derived  products  of  this 
industry,  therefore,  are  described  in  the  following  order: 
acetate  of  lime,  wood  alcohol,  charcoal,  wood  tar  and  wood 
gas. 

Acetate  of  Lime. 

During  the  year  1916,  it  is  estimated  that  in  New  York 
State  there  will  be  produced  38,396,835  pounds  of  acetate 
of  lime.  This  is  based  upon  the  annual  consumption  in 
New  York  State  of  192,330  cords  with  an  average  yield  of 
199.47  pounds  of  acetate  of  lime  per  cord.  At  a  valuation 
of  seven  cents  per  pound  this  material  is  worth  $2,685,788. 

It  is  estimated  that  approximately  100,000  long  tons  of 
acetate  of  lime  are  produced  every  year  in  this  country. 
Under  normal  conditions,  that  is,  before  August,  1914,  only 
about  75,000  long  tons  were  produced. 

Under  normal  conditions  the  export  and  domestic  con- 
sumption of  acetate  of  lime  about  equalled  each  other.  Now 
this  product  is  chiefly  consumed  in  this  country. 

Probably  75  per  cent  of  the  acetate  of  lime  produced  in 
this  country  is  used  as  the  raw  material  for  the  acetic  acid 
industry.  More  recently  there  has  been  a  tremendous  de- 
mand for  the  use  of  acetate  of  lime  as  a  .source  of  acetone. 
About  100  pounds  of  80  per  cent  acetate  of  lime  are  equiva- 
lent to  50  to  60  pounds  of  refined  acetic  acid  or  20  pounds 
of  acetone.  Acetic  acid  is  used  chiefly  for  the  manufacture 
of  white  lead,  acetone  in  the  textile  and  leather  industries 
and  in  a  great  variety  of  other  commercial  manufactures. 
One  of  the  most  important  present  uses  is  in  the  manufacture 
of  cordite  and  lyddite,  two  high  explosives.  Acetone  is  also 


62  College  of  Forestry 

used  largely  as  a  solvent  for  the  cutting  of  gun  cotton  and  in 
the  manufacture  of  smokeless  powder. 

In  many  of  the  European  countries  acetic  acid  or  wood 
vinegar  is  a  common  product  on  the  market.  However,  the 
manufacture  of  wood  vinegar  from  acetic  acid  is  prohibited 
in  this  country. 

Wood  Alcohol. 

During  1916  it  is  estimated  that  there  will  be  produced 
1,904,067  gallons  of  82  per  cent  wood  alcohol  in  New  York 
State.  At  the  current  value  of  45  cents  per  gallon,  this 
should  be  worth  $856,830.15.  This  is  based  upon  the  total 
consumption  of  192,330  cords  per  year  in  the  industry  anc1 
the  average  yield  of  9.9  gallons  of  82  per  cent  wood  alcohol 
per  cord. 

It  is  further  estimated  that  between  10'  and  11  million 
gallons  of  wood  alcohol  are  produced  every  year  in  this 
country.  Its  greatest  single  use  is  as  a  solvent.  Probably 
90  per  cent  of  all  the  wood  alcohol  used  is  for  this  purpose 
in  one  way  or  another.  Its  greatest  consumption  is  probably 
in  the  paint  and  varnish  industry  in  which  about  35  to  50 
per  cent  is  utilized. 

Practically  no  wood  alcohol  is  used  in  the  raw  82  per  cent 
state.  It  is  all  refined  to  a  higher  state  of  purity  before  being 
utilized.  One  concern  refines  a  good  share  of  the  total 
product  of  the  country. 

Wood  alcohol  is  used  very  largely  in  aniline  dye  factories 
to  make  colors,  especially  greens,  purples  and  light  blues.  It 
is  also  used  in  the  manufacture  of  formaldehyde,  photo- 
graphic films  and  in  stiffening  hats. 

Refined  wood  alcohol  of  high  purity  or  methyl  alcohol, 
that  is,  of  99  to  100  per  cent  purity,  is  sold  under  a  great 
variety  of  trade  names,  such  as  Columbian  methanol,  colonial 
methyl,  diamond  methyl,  etc.  As  an  extraction  agent  wood 
alcohol  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  smokeless  powder,  nitro 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     63 

cellulose  and  other  explosives.  Gun  cotton  for  example  is 
freed  from  cellulose  nitrates  by  extraction  with  wood 
alcohol. 

Other  common  uses  are  as  follows:  As  fuel,  as  an  illu- 
minant,  as  a  denaturant  and  in  various  chemical  and  medi- 
cinal preparations. 

Charcoal. 

The  annual  production  of  charcoal  for  1916  in  New  York 
State  is  estimated  to  be  8,198,491  bushels.  At  a  valuation 
of  six  cents  per  bushel  this  should  be  worth  $491,991.46. 
This  is  estimated  011  the  basis  of  the  average  production  of 
42.7  bushels  of  charcoal  per  cord  from  192,330'  cords  of  wood 
annually  consumed  in  the  industry  in  New  York. 

Up  to -about  1905  the  great  market  for  charcoal  was  in  the 
reduction  of  iron  ores.  Important  methods  of  steel  produc- 
tion within  recent  years,  however,  have  gradually  eliminated 
the  strong  demand  for  charcoal  for  this  particular  purpose. 
Charcoal  iron,  or  Swedish  iron  as  it  is  often  called  in  the 
trade,  is  still  in  demand  for  certain  specialized  uses,  especi- 
ally for  high  grade  steel  used-  for  tools,  instruments,  car 
wheels,  etc.  Pig  iron  reduced  with  charcoal  commonly 
brings  $5  a  ton  more  than  coke  iron.  A  single  blast  furnace 
uses  between  10  and  12  thousand  bushels  of  charcoal  a  day. 
Where  there  are  from  5  to  10  blasting  furnaces  at  a  single 
ore  reduction  plant,  it  is  easily  seen  that  the  consumption  of 
charcoal  may  be  very  large.  A  great  many  of  the  hardwood 
distillation  plants  in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  have  ore  re- 
ducing plants  in  connection  with  them.  These  are  the  con- 
ditions under  which  the  greatest  economy  in  charcoal  utiliza- 
tion is  practiced.  Much  of  the  charcoal  for  these  plants, 
however,  is  made  by  the  open  pit  or  bee-hive  kiln  as  well  as 
by  the  oven  plants.  An  investigation  carried  on  by  the 
United  States  Forest  Service  showed  the  consumption  of 
charcoal  in  this  country  to  be  as  follows:  seventy-six  per 


.Photograph  Dy  Nelson  C.  Brown. 

Interior  of  the  oven  house  of  the  Tapper  Lake  Chemical  Co.,  Tupper  Lake, 
N.  Y.,  showing  the  outside  doors  of  the  ovens.  In  the  immediate  foreground 
is  a  turn-table  from  which  the  loaded  wood  cars  are  sent  into  the  oven  for 
distillation.  The  residual  charcoal  is  withdrawn  from  the  same  door  and  sent 
into  the  first  cooling  ovens,  which  are  on  the  right  of  the  picture.  The  white 
spot  in  the  left  foreground  indicates  the  opening  through  which  the  charcoal 
is  fed  into  the  furnaces  beneath.  For  fuel,  charcoal,  wood  gas  and  tar  are  used. 
On  the  right  is  a  wood  car  containing  charcoal  which  is  shovelled  directly  into 
the  furnaces.  Twenty-five  foot  ovens  which  contain  two  cars  at  a  charge, 
are  used  in  this  plant.  There  are  seven  ovens  arranged  in  a  row. 


The  Hardwood  Distillation  Industry  in  New  York     65 

cent  went  to  blast  furnaces;  19.5  per  cent  was  utilized  in 
domestic  uses;  1.9  per  cent  was  used  for  chemical  purposes; 
1.03  per  cent  was  used  for  power  mills  and  the  remainder 
went  to  smelters,  railroads,  etc.  However,  replies  from 
only  60  per  cent  of  the  plants  were  received,  so  that  it  is 
not  likely  that  a  large  number  of  plants  throughout  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania  are  properly  represented  by  this 
estimate. 

Charcoal  is  probably  used  in  a  greater  variety  of  ways 
from  the  New  York  plants  than  from  those  in  other  states. 
There  is  no  question  but  what  the  greatest  majority  of  char- 
coal produced  in  this  country  is  still  used  in  blast  furnaces 
and  for  the  manufacture  of  gun  powder. 

One  New  York  plant  screens  it  and  ships  it  in  five  differ- 
ent grades.  When  the  charcoal  is  shipped  it  is  screened  to 
remove  the  finer  pieces.  This  is  ground  up  in  some  cases 
and  pressed  into  briquettes  and  used  for  fuel.  Other  com- 
mon uses  for  charcoal  are  for  medicinal  purposes,  for  poultry 
and  cattle  food,  in  chemical  manufacture  and  for  fuel  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways. 

Wood  Tar. 

Based  upon  the  annual  consumption  of  wood  in  this  indus- 
try there  are  4,808,250  gallons  of  wood  tar  produced  in  New 
York  State  every  year.  This  figure  is  based  upon  the  average 
production  of  25  gallons  of  wood  tar  per  cord.  At  the 
present  time  practically  all  of  the  wood  tar  is  used  for  fuel 
under  the  ovens  or  boilers.  Throughout  the  country  it  is 
estimated  that  between  30  and  40  million  gallons  of  wood 
tar  are  used  in  this  way.  In  some  cases  prices  of  between 
4  and  8%  cents  have  been  received  per  gallon  for  the  use  of 
this  material  in  chemical  manufactures,  but  its  use  is  very 
limited.  It  is  estimated  that  some  time  in  the  future  a 
method  will  be  found  for  using  this  wood  tar  as  a  basis  of 


66  College  of  Forestry 

creosote  on  a  commercial  scale.  A  good  share  of  our  creosote 
at  the  present  time  is  made  from  coal  tar  and  a  large  part 
of  it  is  imported.  There  is  no  question  that  some  time  in 
the  future  this  material  will  be  used  for  the  preservation  of 
wooden  material,  such  as  ties,  poles,  mine  timber,  etc. 

Wood  Gas. 

It  is  estimated  that  about  11,500  cubic  feet  of  gas  are 
derived  per  cord  of  wood.  On  this  basis  there  are  produced 
annually  in  New  York  State  2,211,795,000  cubic  feet  of 
wood  gas  every  year,  from  192,330  cords. 

This  gas  is  used  entirely  as  a  fuel  underneath  the  ovens  at 
the  present  time.  In  some  localities  in  Germany  and  Austria 
wood  gas  has  been  used  for  illuminating  purposes,  and  it  is 
very  possible  that  at  some  time  in  the  future  this  may  be 
used  for  a  much  more  economical  purpose  than  as  a  fuel 
underneath  the  ovens.  This,  however,  is  looking  a  long  way 
in  advance  and  it  is  probable  that  for  some  time  at  least  it 
will  continue  to  serve  the  purpose  of  fuel  along  with  the 
wood  tar  and  coal  or  other  fuel  brought  in  to  supply  the  neces- 
sary p  nount  of  heat. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 

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MAR  12 
«CORC  MARIO 


1SI86 


10m-12,'23 


YB  68967 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


